Enemies till the End
by InvaderHope6
Summary: "Think now,Zim.You're on the run from your own empire.You have no base,no mission and nowhere to go.Dib wants nothing to do with you and your daughter doesn't even know who you are.What do you think you're gonna do with yourself now?" Mpreg
1. The Return

**Hey there, my new and awesome readers. I am the new writer on the block, Invader Hope (named after the daughter of Zim and Dib) Yay.**

**Yay! I can finally do some writing and publishing and what not :D So, here I go...**

**Um, I have to add a few notes beforehand (awww :( get on with it):**

***I don't own indaver Zim (would probably kill it if I did)**

***Dib, Zim and Gaz are older, so keep that in mind**

***And yeah, I'll keep updating only if there's an interest ^^; So R&R and more shall follow**

**Also, I apologize to my dear friend, Tunica Spellcaster, for adding her character to the story. Sorry, luv. I know you're not _the _biggest fan of this sort of thing, but your character is awesomeness for the story. Sorry again, don't kill me XO**

**Anyway, on with the show.**

**Hope you enjoy, and everything will eventually be explained...**

There was a thud on the door.

It was quite distinct and loud enough to be heard from the kitchen where Gaz had been washing the dishes. Her head perked up, her dark purple hair whipping out of her face as it turned to look at the front door. _What on Earth…?_

She discarded the greasy frying pan used for her niece Hope's lunch today and made her way up to the door, wiping her hands on her apron. She hesitated for a moment, making for the baseball bat in the umbrella holder by the door, and then placed a shaky hand on the handle. She took a breath and opened it wide.

No one was there.

She took a step out, looking around, kind of nervous and bewildered as to who or what that was. She shrugged and was about to go back inside when it caught the side of eye. Her body swung into position to the side of the steps leading up to the front door she stood before. There, near the steps, was what she had grabbed the bat for. Though, by his current state, it was obvious the bat wouldn't be needed.

Zim lay there, unconscious. His body was limp; his antennae drooped over his face. His clothes were singed and he was covered in his own sweat and blood. Gaz looked at him, unsure what to do with the random body lying outside her house. She couldn't very well leave this alien outside her house for the public to see…but…bringing him into the house could be a bad idea. Was this his plan to get in? To get her to drag him inside and then ambush her, take what he _wanted_ and then leave? No, he was genuinely unconscious. Gaz had seen him like this before. It was no trick.

She sighed, leaving the bat back in the holder, before walking outside and dragging his incredibly heavy body back into the house. She thought he would be lighter. But he wasn't. He was actually heavier than when she had seen him last at this weight before…

She dragged his dead weight over to the couch. It had taken her five minutes to get him up onto the sofa, but she managed it nevertheless. She gave a sigh of exhaustion and then went over to the door to close it. She looked at the body on the couch, laying there unmoving. His leg hung off the side of the couch and his hands rested gently on his stomach. His eyes were sealed shut, dark rings underneath his eyelids. This, and his pale skin made him look horribly ill. Gaz gave him a look.

Crashing. That was the last thing Zim had remembered. He had escaped. Yes, he was escaping and had stolen a ship. But the ship was damaged. He had stolen it from a garage and it was still in repair when he took it. It was crashing. He was coming into the atmosphere around the Earth too fast. He was going to crash. Thoughts raced through him. He was going to die. Worse, _it_ may die as well. What was he going to do? No, he wasn't going to give up. He steered the ship awkwardly and violently and managed to crash it into a deserted forest. He had crawled out of the burning ship, feeling cuts along his face and arms from the glass that shuttered over him. He collapsed on the grass, drained from all energy he had used to run away from guards with guns, from steering an immovable steering wheel. He closed his eyes, his PAK resetting itself and letting Zim know it would find a safe place for him to hide…a place where he could get some help…a place where he would be….

His eyes flickered open. Everything was a blur before a woman with purple hair came into view. Something in his spooch twisted horribly. _Oh no. Not here. Not now_. As his vision became clearer, he saw Gaz sitting across from him, a gun pointed at him. Next to her seat was a First Aid box. He cheek tingled from the surprise plaster over it. He strained to speak, "G-Gaz?"

"Hello Zim. Long-time no see," she said in a bitter tone, the gun not wavering away from him, aimed directly at his crotch. He looked at her, his eyes pleading with her. "W-where…how did I get here?"

"Do you mean my house or to the couch you are now on that I dragged you over to?"

He looked down at the coffee table, something clicking in his head. "My PAK."

"What?" she demanded, struggling to hear the whisper he just made.

"M-my PAK. It's programmed to help find the safest place nearby for me or somewhere where I can get some help when I pass out," he realized, looking at her as he tried sitting up awkwardly. The gun pointed higher, Gaz warning him not to stand up or anything. He raised his hands weakly, sitting upright, but nothing more. "I didn't come here to cause trouble."  
>"That, more often than not, seems like your main goal in life, Zim," Gaz said, her bitter tone returning. Zim looked away, ashamed, his face feeling hot and drained of all life.<p>

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two before Gaz broke it, shattering the silence with a sigh. "What are you doing back on Earth Zim? It's been four years since last we saw your slimy green face here…"

Her sentence was cut off from a distraught look upon Zim's face as he let out a breathless gasp. "F-f-four years?" he mumbled. "No, no, no. Not…not that long."

His words were very soft and almost lost to the waves but Gaz tried to make out what she could from his tone and expression. "Why do you seem so surprised?"

She saw something in him that didn't make sense. He looked like he would burst into tears at any moment as he spoke to her, his voice still shrill and soft. "I-I…according to Irken time, the time we were using in space…it had only been…six months."

Gaz wanted to burst out in an unforgivable rage, destroying the Irken where he sat because of his idiotic response. But that look upon his face. The genuine sadness and terror and horror of the situation were too much for her to do anything but stare at him blankly. "What do you mean only six months?" her words grinded against one another as she asked him in a serious tone.

His gaze shifted down to his stomach as he continued to speak with her. "Gaz…." he started, not really sure what else he could add to that. She stood, forcing him to look up. She neared him, gun clutched in her right hand. A shiver shot itself through Zim, his eyes going wide as she swung a punch at him. He flew off the couch and smashed into the coffee table. Wood and glass shuttered across the floor, Zim's limp body hanging from the still intact frame awkwardly. His head shifted barely as he looked up at Gaz. Her face was scrunched in annoyance and fear. "That hurt, you know?" he says barely.

Her face lit up in fury as she swings another hit at him. She aims for the stomach this time. Zim's eyes go into shock for a moment before he jumps backwards. Gaz's hand goes through the empty frame, glass cutting her bare knuckles, as she looks up. Zim fumbles over his feet and collapses onto his knees, holding onto his stomach in desperation. "Please Gaz, don't…!"

But it's too late. She's up, making a hit for him again. She smacks him on the back of his head. His face knocks into the side of the couch. He howls as he collapses backwards, his face burning and his antennae ringing. He turns his head and spits out some blood before looking up at her, anger becoming known on his face. She is about to kick him in the ribs, but he bolts up, grabbing the side of the sofa his face was ploughed into.

"You left her here!" she yells, tears streaming down her face. "You left your own daughter behind for me and Dib to care for without a second thought! You have NO excuse for abandoning your own family!"

"Gaz…!" he tries, coughing up more blood, obviously in pain.

"You have no idea how long four years really is, Zim! It may seem like such a little time for you, but she needed you. Dib needed you!"

"Gaz!" he screamed in agony. "Listen to me! I was held captive on the Massive by my own leaders as they experimented on me! I was tortured! Every single day I wanted to come back for her, but I couldn't! To think I left her…for…four…years…"

He crumbles to the floor, holding onto himself, almost chocking on his words, along with the wet green blood that drips from his mouth. Gaz looks at him in shock, unable to move.

He catches his running away breath and stands, holding onto the side of the couch still. "I-I should go."

"Oh no you don't," Gaz protested, lifting the gun, still firmly locked on his location. "You are not going anywhere until you explain yourself Zim." Her words weren't as harsh and her angry tone was almost completely gone, but she still tried.

"Shoot me if you want, Gaz," Zim said pathetically, "I wanted to die a long time ago."

"What was stopping you then?" she asks, not really caring if he answers or not…but he did.

"The thought of seeing my daughter again and then…the other thing…" he places his hand on his stomach.

Gaz looked at him, her eyes wide in shock. The way he refused to let her punch him in the stomach but allowed her to smash his face against the furniture. The way he was always looking at it. The fact that he was so heavy when she was dragging him to the couch. "You….you're…"

Zim looks down, his hand falling from his stomach. "I should go."

"How? W-why would you…? Was it that person…the one who…" she couldn't bring herself say it…that horrible word that she was surprised Zim even knew. Zim had said it earlier in a blind rage…but he sounded serious about it nonetheless.

Zim shook his head. He couldn't bring himself to say a thing, just standing there in complete self-loathing, something Gaz had never seen in him before.

Her eyes go wide in disbelief. "H-How?"

"It does not matter. I don't know why my PAK brought me here, but it was a mistake. I'm sorry Gaz. I-I didn't mean to put you through all this," his voice was firm, but still quite weak and sickly. He began taking a few steps back, eyes locked onto the gun in Gaz's hands. It shakes slightly, but she doesn't appear to be shooting him, so he continues. He let go of the couch, still moving for the door. Gaz was frozen in shock and didn't know what to do.

But Zim broke her concentration as he moaned loudly, a sudden pain shooting through him. The stress from the crash; the stress from Gaz finding him, the sadness from leaving his friends behind while escaping; the fact that he left his daughter for four years! All hitting him like a ton of bricks, forcing him to his knees. Gaz dropped the gun and makes a dash for him, catching him before he hit the ground heavily. She pushed his antennae out of his eyes and looked at him, concern all over her face. She cursed herself for caring for a nothing like him…but for Hope's sake, she needed to do this. Zim looked up at her, before his eyes closed his body retracting as he lets out a breathless sigh.

Zim felt miserable as he lay on the bed. Sweat dripped from his forehead, but his whole face felt like it was on fire. His body wrapped tightly around itself, his hands on his stomach lovingly as he took deep breathes, hoping the strain and pain would just disappear…how he was tired of the pain. Skoodge sat in the opposite bed, a sad look on his face, looking over at his shivering friend who refused to be touched by anyone. Skoodge had a huge cut going up his right arm, green ooze leaking against his pale green flesh. He was tired, his muscles ached, his spirit was shattered. But he sat there, making not a sound, his main focus on poor Zim.

It had been quite a few months now. Skoodge had lost count after four, but if he had to take a guess he would say it was around five by now, maybe six.

He remembered the night he found Zim.

It was in the forest…on that horrid planet, Earth. He was lying against a tree, covered in his own blood. He was dying. He was going to be dead soon. Skoodge didn't know if he was going to make it because Zim had done one of the most outrageous and unheard of things on their planet.

He had ripped of his PAK.

Circuits and wires hung from his blood-soaked back. Skoodge stood frozen for too long, he thought, staring at his dying friend, panic scattering itself through his then tiny body.

Skoodge remembered how he stood before the Tallests, holding tightly onto Zim who was close to death, his breath slowing and his eyes dull, begging them to help him. He remembered the harsh laughter and sadistic tone they gave the two Invaders about how they didn't care if that nothing of a defect died. Skoodge had never begged like this before in his life. He howled, swore, spoke against his leaders, something he would have never consider doing. He tried, saying he would do whatever the Tallests needed him to do to get Zim the medical attention he needed. He knew that the Tallests would, if they even bothered agreeing, would make a slave out of him. He wasn't wrong.

Skoodge was made into a warrior. An Irken Fighter to compete in the arena on planet Callousia, the planet of the 'Battle Galactica Regime'. This was created by the Tallests to pit the strongest athletes from across the universe against one another in a battle of strength, stamina and strategy (for their utter entertainment). Now, the reason why they wanted Skoodge on the field (considering having Irkens fight in these events was not very common) was because they thought he would be his normal Skoodge self and get easily hurt and maybe even killed on the first day. But Skoodge needed to remain alive. Because if he died, Zim would die too. That was the deal.

So, Skoodge decided to stick it to his leaders and tried as best he could not to end up as another splattered effect across the battle field. He became the warrior they had never expected he would become. He became stronger, faster and was a true warrior by now. Six months did wonders to him and now…he was a new Irken altogether.

He had managed to last for these last few months quite nicely, he thought. He wasn't dead yet. He did come back to his prison cell quite often covered in blood and in pain. He was almost dead that one time, but the point remained: he was still alive. And that was all he needed to be right now. For Zim. For his poor, sick…friend.

Zim opened his pastel, magenta eyes, looking over at Skoodge, his breath still uneven. "H-h-how was…the f-fight today?" he tried, his weak voice jumping. Even though Zim was ill, he always tried to rock up conversation and would always use his normal 'Zim' tone when he spoke. These last few days, though, his tone was slowly disappearing into the void of space surrounding them.

"It was…" Skoodge tried, not liking the sight of a hunched over Zim, writhing in pain, "Okay. Nothing too…different about today's…battle."

Zim scanned Skoodge for the first time since he arrived in the cell a few minutes ago, noticing the long gash across his arm. He felt a bit of concern for Skoodge, but would never dare show it. So, he simply said, "I s-s-see you got…cut again. I-I-idiot."

Skoodge gave a slight grin. He was getting used to Zim's insults, and found that if he still had enough strength to insult you, he was doing better than usual. Still. "Yeah, yeah," he mumbled.

Zim gave a small twitch that resembled a smile. He then groaned loudly, his eyes shutting tightly as he turned onto his back, his body spreading out, the blanket flying through the air. Zim placed one hand on his bare round stomach, the other clasped around his mouth as he gagged. Skoodge sat straight, his eyes opening as wide as their heaviness would allow. He didn't like that moan. It meant…

Skoodge bolted for the bucket near Zim's bed and jumped over to him. Zim jolted up immediately as the gagging stopped and was replaced by retching. Skoodge managed to give Zim the bucket before his bed suffered his illness as well. It had happened before when Zim had been ill and no bucket was there for him to throw up in. It did not end well in terms of explaining that to the medics and Tallests. Let's just say the punishment was worse than the illness and Skoodge and Zim still had the scars to prove it.

He had thrown up on the bed the first time Zim actually got ill while being here on the Massive. It was about a week or so after they had arrived and were thrown into the cell. He didn't see it coming, in fact. He was chatting with Skoodge after a day of being in the medical ward, having tests and drugs used on him (another catch to the deal they made with their leaders). The next moment, his lunch ended up scattered across the bed, much to Zim's discomfort and Skoodge's dismay. Zim and the Medics figured it was a side effect of the drugs and thought nothing of it.

The second time it happened was just to prove something was wrong with him. It happened while tests were being run on him in the medical ward. He threw up on one of the medics (which he thought was the most hilarious thing afterward, but never actually mentioned it, knowing he would most likely get beaten for it).

Zim gasped as his stomach stop retracting for a moment, coughing as the bile caught at the back of his throat. "God, this is torture," he mumbled, before continuing to heave into the bucket. Skoodge sighed, standing over Zim, watching to make sure his antennae didn't fall in front of the vomit at any point. Skoodge, at first, was completely put off by Zim's vomiting fits, and would usually keep his back to poor Zim while he empty his stomach like this. But recently, he got over and decided he needed to help Zim. If his puke got caught on his antennae, he just got more sick, which would eventually lead to him passing out which wasn't the best of things.

When he was sure he was empty, his stomach hurting slightly, Zim pushed the bucket away, falling backwards as he took deep breathes. Skoodge took the bucket off the bed and placed it in a slot in the wall which would take it away for them. He sat on Zim's bed and looked over at him, pity dancing across his eyes. "Is it…the tests or…" Zim interrupted him. "Both."

Skoodge closed his eyes and looked down.

When Zim first got ill, the medics simply believed it was because of the tests that were done to him; maybe a side effect from one of the drugs they tested on him. When it happened the second time, concern began to arise. The Tallests had hope; maybe he was dying. Maybe their troubles with him and involving him would be over! But oh no, this was far from over. This was the beginning of the end for all of them, especially Zim.

He was carrying a hybrid child (the first and only that the Tallest would know about anyway), something completely foreign to their species. In fact, Zim would have the Empire ridiculed by the entire galaxy if news got out that one of their _male_ invaders had found a mate and had reproduced! However, this was also a good thing. They could create the perfect soldier, an heir that can take their place and continue the invasion. Human genes, as they researched, proved to have some positives in terms of height, strength and many other little things the Tallests became interested in. Zim was the best and worst thing to the empire right now. The Tallests needed him now…whether they wanted to admit it or not.

Since they had discovered this, more intense testing and experimenting had happened on Zim's body, meaning he was getting weaker and weaker and became ill more often. The first few months were the worst. Everything he ate was immediately spewed out. His emotions went off on their own tangent, leaving him confused all the time. His body even quit on him twice! Scrambling medics were able to revive his dead body each time, but leaving him weaker and more damaged in the process. He was basically just being used as an incubator for the child until the time came for it to be brought into the world. Skoodge didn't agree with this but he couldn't do anything, knowing he would be killed for it. Either way any of them looked at it…they were all going to end up dead by the time the new child was born.

There was a weak voice echoing through the hallway, "Is he okay?"

In the cell across from them was Tunica Spellcaster. Dressed in a black shredded uniform, she stood by the transparent red force field, arms behind her back, her silver eyes looking quite dull today.

She had met Zim and Skoodge last month. She met Zim in the Medical Ward while receiving treatment for an injury and had met Skoodge on the battle field. She was originally from Earth and found that she had quite a bit in common with the two of them…well, with Skoodge anyway. Skoodge thought she was a great help in terms of surviving the fighting ring and so, worked together with her when on the field. He protected her as best he could, and to repay him, she helped him with Zim, teaching him more about Earth pregnancies and such.

The thing that separated her from other Earth Humans and made her a worthy enough contestant in the Battle Galactica Regime was the fact that she was a wingless fairy, and a powerful one at that.

Skoodge looked up, Zim opening his eyes barely as he listened, not ready to speak just yet. "Not sure yet, Tunica," he said over to her. Her head tilted. "Give him something to drink…something with lots of sugar."

"I-I-I just had a vomiting fit and you want me t-t-to refuel the flames?" Zim trembled, annoyed.

"You need to replace the lost electrolytes Zim or you'll pass out _again_," Tunica said in concern. Skoodge nodded and got up, pressing a button on the wall near them. Zim grumbled, still not agreeing with their mad methods. Skoodge looked over at Tunica. "Are you sure you're ready for tonight?"

"Positive," she said, giving a slight smile on her pale, almost white face. "We only have one chance and it's today."

Zim mumbled, "I-it's not fair to the b-both of you. Th-th-they'll kill you."

"For your sake, Zim and your child's, this has to be done. The ship is there, I've made sure of it," Tunica said forcefully, not wanting him to pull back on this plan now. It was too late for that.

"And we can take on the guards, giving you enough time to make it to the ship before reinforcements arrive. You can pilot one of those things in your sleep. It'll work. It has to," Skoodge said, taking the cola out of a newly opened slot.

Zim closed his eyes. "It's – still – not – right…"

He drifted off, passing out.


	2. Hope

He was used to this by now. Passing out had become normal for him. He would always wake up, back in his blood-soaked or sweat-soaked cell bed with Skoodge looking at him in a panic, Tunica yelling at them from across the way in her strained unmistakable voice…

But this time, it was different. He wasn't in his prison cell bed. It wasn't a dimly lit room but rather a slightly dark living room, the rain outside causing a grey effect to engulf everything inside…and there was no Skoodge or Tunica here. He sat up awkwardly, looking around, realizing he was still in Dib and Gaz's house. Around him, wrapped tightly was a fleecy purple blanket with a mobile heater next to the couch he was lying on. A white pillow was beneath his head and by his feet. His boots were taken off and his magenta Invader jacket was on the couch he remembered Gaz sitting in. His black shirt that covered up the bum that was his stomach was still on, though, something he was very grateful for.

He let out a sigh, lying back down, not really sure why Gaz hadn't killed him yet. Maybe he was still knocked out back on the Massive in his cold hard cell bed, Skoodge and Tunica simply waiting for him to wake up. Maybe he had passed out on the ship he had stolen with their help after it crashed. Maybe…this was really just reality.

His antennae perked for a moment. He heard humming. It was coming from the kitchen. He sat up and saw her in the kitchen, busy working on something by the stove. Gaz had grown since last Zim had seen her. She was a teenager the last time they had met one another. Now she was a full grown adult. He found it quite strange that her dark personality hadn't changed, though. Thoughts raced through him, the operative one being at that point in time being…_run_.

But, he didn't get the chance to give it a second thought. "Don't even think about it," she said, not in a very threatening voice, but still firm enough for Zim to realize she was being serious. His antennae dropped, kind of scared that she could see him without even turning around. She walked back into the living room, no weapon in hand this time. Only a cup of something steamy. She put it on the table beside the couch, considering there was no coffee table left to put it on. She had managed to clean up some of the glass and wood, but the still barely intact frame was still in the middle of the room. She decided to leave it for later for Dib to take care of. She sat back down on the couch next to the large sofa Zim lay on and looked at him. Her look, her expression had completely changed. She was no longer the angry mad bitch she was before. She was simply…Gaz.

Zim moved his legs off the pillow his feet lay on and put them on the ground very carefully; hoping Gaz wouldn't attack him like she had before. She didn't. She just sat there, watching him, her eyes dull and confused by this situation. He sat as straight as he could, his hands on his knees, watching her.

She finally spoke. "How are you feeling, Zim?"

Was this the same person? "I-I…" Zim tried to speak, but his voice was very strained from a night of screaming on the Massive. He closed his mouth and then opened it to try again. But, unfortunately, the dried blood he had coughed up before got caught in his throat and caused him to burst out into uncontrollable coughing instead. Gaz stood and sat next to him, rubbing his back as he hacked himself to death. He prayed in his head that he wouldn't start retching again all over the carpet. He sat back, taking in deep breathes as the caught intruder in his throat passed, relieved that his cola from earlier had stayed down. Gaz's arm was behind his neck, giving him a little support. "I'll take that as a 'not feeling too good' then," she said.

Zim looked at her and sighed, sitting back up, her arm coming back to her. "I'm sorry," he began, his voice still croaky, "I shouldn't have come back here."  
>She looked away. "D-don't worry about it," she mumbled, her arms resting on her knees, her hands clasped together tightly. "Sorry for throwing you into the furniture. Hope I didn't hurt you too badly."<p>

He gave a slight grin. "No harm done. I am the amazing Zim, after all."

She looked at him and smirked. "Glad to see your arrogance hasn't left you." She reached over to the table next to the couch to grab the cup she had brought. "Here. Drink this. It'll help," she handed it to Zim. He stared at it blankly, giving her a look. "I can't drink…"

"It's hot chocolate with soya extract. I know you can't drink water or milk, so this is the next best thing, right?" she said, giving him a look back.  
>He looked at it and then back at her. "How would you know I can drink this?"<p>

"Your daughter can drink it. She's also allergic to milk and can't drink water. It has no effect when it touches her skin, but drinking water can give her an upset stomach. Same with meat."

He looked at her in surprise. She knew more about his daughter than he had imagined. He looks down, realizing what a terrible parent he really is. He brings the cup to his lips and takes a small sip.

He scrunched his face a little, but doesn't spit it out. "It's not bad," he mumbled, handing the cup back to her.

She put it back on the counter next to them and looked back at Zim. They stare at one another for a moment, observing the other. "So, Zim," Gaz says in a soft voice, "Ready to tell me what's really going on?"

Zim's eyes went wide for a moment, before they drifted down to his legs. "I-I just…can't explain it…I – " he silenced once more, shutting his eyes. Gaz looked at him before standing up. Zim's eyes shot open as he looked at her. Was she going to try and hit him again? He really wasn't in the mood.

"Zim, if you want my help…"she sighed before continuing, "You're gonna have to try."

A tremble of weakness travelled through Zim, but he tried to hide it, keeping all sound within him that wanted to break free quiet. He gave a breath and tried again. "I-I managed to escape…with the help of…" he stopped, his heart aching. He tried not to think about Skoodge or Tunica, knowing they could probably be dead. He didn't care for them, it was all this stupid smeet's fault…making him feel all these _emotions_. But still. He couldn't help but wonder. "That's not important. M-my ship, the one I stole, it was from a repair station. It-it crashed when I hit the atmosphere of your filthy planet!"

Gaz turned and looked at him. She hadn't heard that in years. "Why come back to Earth? Of all planets?"

His eyes glanced at her finally, "For her. To see my daughter again, at least." He turned away, not wanting to see Gaz's expression after that reply, "Besides, my base is here on Earth. It has everything I need to survive till I figure out something. The Massive will still be after me," he mumbled.

Gaz's eyes dropped downward as she said in a soft tone, "I don't think that's an option, Zim."

His eyes shot towards her. "What do you mean?"

She hesitated. "A year ago, because the house was vacant for so long…the city demolished it to make way for a new home."

Zim's face turned paler. Gaz thought he was actually turning pure white for a moment. "M-my base is…gone?"

Gaz gave a small nod, still not looking at him directly, trying desperately to avoid his anger-filled eyes. "You filthy idiotic humans destroyed my BASE!" he screeched, up on his feet, pointing at her viciously. She took a step back and simply waved his finger out of her face. "No one had been in there for three years. They decided it was for the best…"

"My life's research on this stupid insignificant planet was in that base! Everything I worked for, gone forever!" he yelled, his pale colour now replaced with fury. "Irk, you species deserves what it is going to get!" Something tinged in his head, "My base's secrets," he whispered, panic slowly overwhelming him.

Gaz looked at him, "All gone. Dib demanded to go and check the remains of your house after the demolition team finished. Your entire underground base vanished."

"Good," he said, sitting back down, "My computer's self-destruct worked then. You filthy worm monkeys won't get your hands on my species secrets…ever!"

Gaz sighed and rolled her eyes. "Zim, you're not focusing on the problem at hand."

"Which is what?" he glared at her, his previous fears of her gone for the moment, "The fact that I'm an invader with no base of operations!"

She interrupted him, getting annoyed, "Zim! You were just rambling on about how your leaders kept you hostage and tortured you and you're still being a moron! God, you never changed, you fucking idiot!" she yelled at him, wanting to grab him and shake the hell out of him. Something stopped her, though. Probably the thought that he was carrying and she didn't want to hurt the child.

Zim gave her a look, not really pleased that she would dare talk to him like that. She continued anyway, "Think now, Zim. You're on the run from your own empire. You have no base, no mission and nowhere to go. Dib wants nothing to do with you and your daughter doesn't even know who you are. What the fuck do you think you're gonna do with yourself now?"

Gaz regretted it more and more after she had said it. But it had to be done. Zim, however, didn't appreciate it one bit. In fact…he was left speechless. His eyes looked blankly at the floor, everything hitting him quite hard in the stomach and back (that could have just been the normal pains he got in recent days. He wasn't sure). Gaz just stood there, a cold look still on her face.

A few minutes of silence between the two still figures passed…before Gaz let out a grunt of irritation. She shifted her way over to the fireplace in front of them, grabbing a set of keys of the rest above it. "What are those?" Zim demanded in a soft voice, curious as to what she was doing _now_.

"My car keys," she said in an obvious tone. He pouted, mumbling, "How was I supposed to know that?"

"I have to go and fetch Hope from School," she sighed out, fiddling with the keys in her hands.

"Hope?" Zim said, his antennae perking up a bit (despite the annoying clicking of the keys).

She sighed, "Your daughter. That's the name Dib chose for her."

A look of shock draped itself on his face and body. "Getta here!"

She took a step back, "What?"

He looked down, grinning. "Guess some of my amazing Zimness rubbed off on that impudent brother of yours."

"Why do you say that?"

He gave a small laugh at the back of his throat. "I was planning to name her 'Hop' after she was born. It's Irken for Hope."

Gaz's eyes burst open widely, looking over at him, the same shock that was on his face now on hers like it was a contagious disease.

Zim lay on the couch while Gaz got her bag ready, putting her cell phone in it along with her wallet. His arm was over his face, blocking out any light around the room. His stomach was quite soar and he was exhausted. Even though Irkens didn't sleep, he felt like he needed a nap right about now. Gaz strolled over to the couch, zipping up the final slot of her leather bond purse. "Zim."

He shot up, his arm flying to his side. "Yes, Gaz?" he said, half asleep. He seemed surprised by her voice awakening him from his daze, but he regained himself and looked at her blankly, rubbing the back of his stiff neck. "I take it I should probably go before Dib or Hope gets home, eh?"

She looked at him, "I thought you wanted to see your daughter?"

He hesitated. "Look, Gaz. That night when I left, when I had Hope…I just…I had this feeling."  
>"Go on," she said resting against the couch's back.<p>

"It was strange. It was warm and gooey and…made me feel all icky. It was something Tunica explained to me as being…love. That…agh, feeling…for her…I don't want to see her hurt is what I'm trying to say here."

Gaz wanted to ask about who this Tunica person was so she could congratulate them for putting up with Zim, but decided against it. "You're gonna have to explain this a bit more, Zim. You're not making sense…not like you usually do anyways."

Zim gave a noise of annoyance and continued. "Irkens, from what I've learnt, can tell relations by scent. If Hope were to come into too close of a contact with me…she would know who I am."

There was silence as Gaz thought about this. "How are you so sure of this? I thought you were the first and only Irken to become preg…"

"Yes, yes," he grumbles, standing. "Let's just say it's an educated guess on my part."

"In other words, ignore it then?" she grinned.

Zim scowled at her. She stood, giving a sigh. "Look Zim. I don't know how Dib is going to react when he gets home tonight if he were to find you here." She missed a beat, thinking. "However…"

"Yes?" Zim said, giving her a sceptical look, drawing out the word which just annoyed Gaz further.

She took a breath and forced the words out, "We have three spare bedrooms."

Zim took a step back, nearly knocking into the broken coffee table frame. Gaz continued, seeing as Zim couldn't speak. "Seeing as you don't really have anywhere to stay, no ship and…whatever, it's your choice."  
>Zim looked away, considering this. The one thing he hated more than carrying a smeet (and a hybrid one for that) was asking for help because of it. It was like the almighty Zim couldn't even look after himself (which he couldn't) and needed to come to these…humans, for it. It sickened him greatly…but he had no choice right now. He needed a place to stay. He needed to keep warm. He needed some form of food. He needed…shelter. And if Gaz could give this to him…<p>

"I guess…that'll be fine," he mumbled, looking at her with an indifferent look.

She gave a slight nod and put a hand on the handle of the door, getting ready to leave. But she stopped, turning to look at him. "Despite your insane theories, you idiot of note…" she sighed, "You can come with me to fetch your daughter. Your wig and contacts are in the kitchen on the table."

"You got them out for me?" he asked confused.

"In case I needed to take you to the mortuary," she grumbled as the door swung open, heading to the car. Zim stood there, wondering if this was the right choice.


	3. Mommy!

**OH my GOD! People are actually reading this weird and quite odd story! XD Yay! This is good...I think :p**

**Well, seeing as I have a few min (before I have to go back to slaving over my art project which is due this week X_X, I figures I may as well stop the suffering of those reading and UPDATE (yaaay!) So here I go, updating...yeah, that's pretty much it :)**

**I shall update again some time this week (I know how annnoying it is waiting for people to update quickly) and I hope you enjoy...this is were it gets interesting...er...:D**

Zim didn't really like the car seats. He could feel his ass slipping out of it as the car moved. The cream leather was too slick for his alien fabric to take and he went sliding left and right when the car turned a corner. It annoyed him.

"If you would just put your seatbelt on…" Gaz grumbled.

"An invader doesn't need one of those stupid pieces of strapping. They don't do anything but take up space. Plus, they're tacky," he moaned, folding his arms.

Gaz hit the brakes on this empty road, Zim sliding forward. His arms caught his body before he hit the dashboard, instinct protecting the baby. He glared at Gaz who simply looked at him. "That was stupid, human."

"Put-It-On!" she said in a harsh tone that made Zim's spooch curl up again. He really didn't like Gaz when she went dark and scary. Then again, he didn't like Gaz in general. He sat back and put his seatbelt on, trying not to show his fear to her. She nodded and continued driving. Zim gave out a horse blow and sighed, "Why is this taking sooo long?'

"What? Driving? This is a car Zim. Be grateful, at least it's faster than that rusty old school bus we had to ride back in the day."

Zim gave her a look, but still moaned anyway, annoyed at how inferior human devices were.

Gaz gazed at the road, millions of questions bubbling up inside her. She wanted to kill Zim, but she also wanted to feel sorry for him. She wanted to be happy for her darling niece, Hope. She loved that girl more than anything else. That little girl brought the best out of her. But what about her brother? He would be hurt, confused, angry. And of course, when Zim found out about _her_ being in the household? About _her_ being Dib's new girlfriend and Hope's temporary mom…then what?

Zim let out a small grunt, his eye almost twitching for a moment. He grumbled something under his breath but seemed to be fine. "What's wrong?" Gaz asked, her eyes not moving from the road, but her train of thought finally derailed.

"N-nothing," he said, his eyes locked on the road as well. "Just…lots of kicking today. It's annoying. My children obviously have no consideration for my spooch."

She looked at him for a moment, giving a grin. "Guess they know you well enough to already hate you."

Zim gave her a look, but softened. "I'm just…I don't know. I'm not really ready for this."

Gaz gave him a look of sympathy, something he had never seen before. It freaked him out further, "How far along are you?"

Zim tried calculating on his fingers. "Six Months."

"So, six months in space equals four years on Earth? Hmm, you probably still have quite a long wait ahead of you then," she commented.

He shook his head, "No. Because I'm back on Earth, It'll adjust to be the same time as it should have been there. Meaning, I have two months and a bit before due date."

"Ah, so that's why you're a little nervous," she said, almost nodding.

"I don't know if I'll even survive this one. I barely survived Hope's…" he mumbled.

Gaz wanted to ask him what had happened. The night Zim and her brother had been taken by Tak. How she went in search of them and found Dib unconscious with a screaming half irken, half human new born in his arms…and with a missing Zim, nowhere in sight. She just didn't know how to phrase it correctly. And now was not the time to stress Zim out further. She had read somewhere that stress could lead to premature delivery (something she theorized had happened with Hope) and that was the last thing they needed after such a bad day already.

Zim changed the subject, realizing they shouldn't be talking about this right now as well, "Why is Hope going to school? She's Irken. She should have all the knowledge she needs already! She's probably miserable in such a horrible place."

Gaz almost laughed. "You haven't changed a bit, Zimmy." His head swung as he looked at her, surprised at that remark. "She actually really likes school. Besides, she is half Irken _and _half human. She's a very smart girl and is speaking like a pro, but she needs to learn a few other important things here and there."

Zim looked out the window, "Stupid slow human brain development."

Gaz gave a grin, "Just makes her more awesome."

Zim looked down, feeling awkward about seeing his daughter again. He didn't know how he would react. "Gaz, when we see Hope….just…don't mention who I am to her, okay?"

Gaz shot a quick look at him, before returning her gaze back towards the road. "Okay, it's up to you, Zim."

Gaz waited outside the car, leaning against the window and door. Zim sat in the car, almost napping. His half open eyes looked out as screaming kids exited the building. It annoyed his hidden antennae at how load these Earth children were. His gaze didn't quiver, though. He was looking for her. He shot up finally.

A girl with light green skin. No nose, eyes the colour of gold (Dib had gotten her contacts…stupid human). Two long strands curled behind her head of black hair on her head. She was wearing a black dress with pink stripped long sleeves. She was…beautiful.

He gave a huge grin. Of course she was perfect. She was _his _daughter, after all. Gaz walked up to her and picked her up, giving her a big hug. Zim could see his old PAK strapped to her back. He could see Dib made a few adjustments so it would fit her better. He had to admit, he was impressed.

Gaz put the little child down and held her hand as they made their way up to the car. Hope looked at Zim for the first time and something in his chest lurched. She gave him a shy smile before looking down. Zim look out the window to his side, not really sure what he was doing. The doors opened and Hope got into her travelling seat in the backseat. Gaz strapped her in and came back to the driver's seat, started the car, and off they went.

There was silence for a few moments, Zim looking slightly pale again as something sunk in his stomach. Gaz finally spoke, "Hope."

She looked up from the toy rubber piggy she was playing with. It reminded Zim of his malfunctioning SIR unit. "Yes, Aunty Gaz?"

"This is Zim," she gestured at the person sitting next to her. Zim turned around, awkwardly looking back at her, giving a slight wave. "He's gonna be staying with us for a bit. He's…an old friend of your dad's." Zim wanted to remark against that last comment but still smiled at her.

Hope gave a confused look at first, but smiled at him cheerfully. "Okay. Hi Zim!" she waved, "Can he play with me after lunch, Aunty Gaz?"

"Sure, if he's okay with it, sweety," she said grinning at Zim. He looked surprised before turning back around, his skin looking too-sick-for-healthy. "He's not feeling too well today…"

"But…" he said quite loudly, before realizing it. He cleared his throat and continued in not such a loud voice, "I think…I would like that, Hope."

She gave a squeal of delight, something Zim found quite cute. "I have a new tea set that mommy bought me! Teddy doesn't seem too interested in it so you can try it out with me today instead."

Zim's antennae jolted beneath his wig. He heard it. Gaz did as well. Her face dropped. He looked at Gaz in a curious anger. _Mommy?_ Hope couldn't be referring to Gaz. She was calling her Aunty a few seconds earlier, meaning…

He took a deep breath, calming down. No, he couldn't have a fit in front of Hope. Not after seeing her again after _four years_. Gaz could see the colour jump back into his face, and she knew that he knew something was up. "Hey, Hope? How about we stop by the park for a bit? You can go and play on the jungle gyms for a bit before lunch. How does that sound?"

"Really?" her little girl eyes lit up, "Yes, please!"

The car parked off in the lot beside the city park. It was actually a good part of the town too, so Hope could at least enjoy herself without coming home with some strange disease or something like that. Gaz opened her door and off she went to her favourite jungle gym. Zim got out of the car awkwardly and followed Gaz over to one of the benches underneath a tree near the playground. He had a look of utter fury on his face. Gaz was neutral, trying to look as happy as possible for Hope.

After they sat down and they were sure Hope was far enough away so she wouldn't hear what they were saying, Zim looked at Gaz. "_Mommy_?" he said in a venom-laced tone.

"Zim, calm down…"

"Who?" he nearly screeched in his soft whispers, "I demand to know who is posing as my child's mother!"

"Well, seeing as you weren't there for her!" Gaz snapped back in a hushed tone.

Zim gave her a look, "I explained that!"  
>"You danced around the issue, but you still have not explained yourself Zim," she said quite calmly, knowing it was true. "So, you have no right…"<p>

"Gaz, that is my daughter over there! The night I gave birth to her, I ripped off my own bloody PAK to save her life! I was dying! Do you really think it would have been wise for her first memories of her father to be of him dead!" he nearly yelled. He covered his mouth, hoping she hadn't heard that. They turned to look at her. She was playing in the sand with her rubber piggy quite happily, not even noticing them. He looked back at Gaz, "Now you're the one avoiding the topic, human. Who is this new filth monster that it caring for Hope? I at least deserve to know that."

Gaz gave a sigh, "Zim…"

Zim was not one to beg and simply gave a grunt of annoyance, looking back at Hope, "It's obviously someone I don't like…wait, that doesn't narrow it down, I hate every human on this stupid planet."

"Zim, please," Gaz tried finally, closing her eyes. Zim looked at her. "I can't explain this to you now, not without Dib here. Understand that this was his choice more than anything else…to have someone there to help raise Hope. I don't really like the person he picked, but hey…"

"What about you, Sister-monster?"

"What about me?" she glanced over at him.

"I figured you'd help him raise, Hope. You seem to have a lot of icky love feelings towards her. Why does he need another female Earthling to help him?"

She looked back at Hope, "Maybe it was more for him than for her."

Zim stared at Gaz blankly. He looked back at the half Irken throwing sand all over the place, making a mess of herself and her toy piggy. "Hmmm."

"Yeah," Gaz mumbled.

"You made quite a mess, silly," Gaz said opening the door to the house. Hope gave her an embarrassed smile. "It was Mr Piggy's fault!" Hope protested, still smiling.

"Well, you and Mr Piggy aren't getting lunch till you clean yourselves up," Gaz said as Zim lugged himself in from behind them. "Now go on. Hurry, before there's nothing left."

Hope gave an excited giggle and ran upstairs to the bathroom to have a quick bath.

Zim and Gaz made their way to the kitchen. Zim sat heavily down into his seat, exhausted. He looked quite ill, and in need of a good sleep. Gaz turned the stove on and looked over at him. "You doing okay, Zim?" she said, looking quite tired herself.

He mumbled, his eyes closed, "Fine."

"You don't look or sound it," she said taking out a butternut from the veggie rack hanging next to one of the cabinets above her.

"Where is she?" he mumbled.

"Who?"

"The female human Hope called…" he couldn't bring himself to say it and simply hacked at the end of the sentence. Gaz turned, taking out a knife to chop up the orange veg. "She's out for the day with Dib."

Zim's face scrunched in annoyance, his eyes opening slightly. "Doing _what_?"

Gaz brought down the knife on the marble counter, a load thwack followed by the separation of the first bit of butternut. "Dib has an important conference in a week. He's doing an interview about it today for a TV show."

"What is it that the Dib-human does?"

"He's…a paranormal investigator," she sighed, continuing to chop the veg. Zim gave a load groan in annoyance and closed his eyes again, "Figures."

"So yes, that's what they're doing today. Usually, she spends the day at home while I'm out working as Head CEO of Bloaty's Pizza Hog. I took today off so Hope would have someone home for her."

"So this…woman is raising Hope, then?" he almost spat out.

"Not necessarily. I work three days a week, so I spend a lot of time with her. Her…_mom_, is usually off doing other things."

Something occurred to Zim. His eyes opened barely and he looked at the table, disheartened. "She doesn't know who I am."

Gaz stopped cutting and looked over at him, "That's what you wanted…"

"She thinks…this new woman is her…" he stood, walking out of the room. Gaz looked over at him and followed, "Zim?"

He stopped, holding onto his arms in confusion as he stood in the hallway between the kitchen and lounge, "God, Gaz, what have I done to myself?"

She looked away. "She doesn't even know that I exist. She…she…"

"She's right here, Zim," Gaz said, looking up at the stairs. Zim spun around to see Hope standing by the stairs, holding her rubber piggy with a new dress on. "Are you okay, Mister Zim? You look sick."

Zim looked at her in surprise, then at Gaz who was looking at him now. "I-I…" He composed himself. "I'm fine. Are you ready for lunch?"

Hope gave a smile and nodded. "Ready."

They sat together at the table, Gaz putting down two bowls of butternut soup for her and Hope. Hope was still quite small, so she had a high chair set up. She took her spoon (which was a little too big for her) and began to play with it in the bowl. Gaz grinned at her, "Don't play with your food, Hope."

Zim smiled at his daughter. He really couldn't explain the love he had for her, it was both annoying and something he found quite enjoyable at the same time. Hope took a big spoon full and smiled. "Is it good?" Zim asked her.

She nodded, smiling brightly, "It's my favourite."

"We've tried introducing her to different foods to see which ones she can actually eat. So far, fruits and veggies seem to be the best option. Soya and wheat also seem to be fine. But dairy products, meats and things with a lot of water in them just make her very ill," Gaz said having a sip of thick orange soup.

"Well, at least she has food here," Zim said as a side thought.

"What about you, Mister Zim? Aren't you gonna eat?" Hope asked, her mouth still filled with soup. She gave a gulp and smiled at him.

Zim gave a small giggle at the back of his throat, "No. I'm fine."

"You sure, Zim? Some food might make you feel a bit better," Gaz mentioned, finishing off her bowl.

Zim nodded, "I don't know which Earth foods are safe for me, and right now I'm too weak to take the chance. Maybe tonight at dinner, I'll try a little bit of something, but right now, I'm alright."

"Suit yourself," Gaz said standing, taking her bowl to the sink. Hope continued eating hers. She was a lot slower in terms of finishing her food, because of how distracted she got.

When Hope _eventually_ finished, Gaz took her out of the high chair and put her on the ground. "Can I show Mr Zim my tea set now?" she said in a very excited voice. Zim perked up from his slump over the table. He had started falling asleep again.

Gaz looked over at him, "That's his choice, Hope. You're gonna have to check with him if it's alright."

She looked at him with her big gold eyes (she had taken off the contacts when she had a bath). He was in awe of those eyes. Never before had he seen gold irken eyes. They were almost hypnotising. He gave a sigh, knowing he would have to agree to this, "Sure, why not?"

She lit up and ran up to him, taking a hold of his hand and dragging him up the stairs. Gaz gave an evil laugh to herself as she made her way to wash the dishes.

Zim sat in the tiny plastic chair, hoping it wouldn't collapse under his weight (considering he was a two in one package right now). Hope sat across from him, her piggy in a seat next to her, drinking imaginary tea out of her brand new tea set. Hope's room wasn't like anything he had expected. She had a plain, white bed with pink and purple flower patterns on the sheets. Above her bed was a mobile with tiny planets on it. She had lots of stuffed toys and a doll house to the corner of the room. Lots of pictures of crayon scribbles decorated the room. Pictures of her and her family. Her aunty Gaz. Her daddy. But none of the woman she called _mommy_. Zim couldn't help but hide a grin inside. He held his cup, looking into the emptiness of the porcelain circle, his mind drifting.

Hope looked up at him, "What's wrong? Is the tea cold?"

Zim looked up at her. He wasn't really one to be known for his imagination, but at least tried to pretend for his daughter's sake. "No, no, this imaginary tea is the perfect temperature. I promise," he said awkwardly, knowing he was doing a crappy job at this 'pretending' thing.

Hope gave him a look, "You not good at pretending, are you?"

He gave a slight laugh, "Impossible! The Amazing Zim is good at everything he does!" he proclaimed, standing from the chair valiantly. He softened when he saw his daughter was giggling away. "You're funny."

"I'm not funny. I am Zim!" he said quite proudly. His daughter burst into laughter now. Zim gave her an annoyed look, before smiling at her. He felt good to be able to call himself Almighty again. Being locked away for that long…he missed this. He sat back down, grinning at her.

"So, Mr Zim, where do you come from?" Hope asked, taking another sip of empty tea.

Zim gave her a look, "What do you mean?"

"Where did you used to live?" she asked.

Zim thought about this. He couldn't tell her just yet that he was an alien from her home planet. He wasn't even sure if she knew she was an alien yet. "I don't really have a home. I drift around, on a mission of my own, Hope."

"Oh," she said in awe of him. She smiled at him, though. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing, you just…you're familiar," she said giving her piggy some more tea. "More?"

"No thank you," Zim said, holding his cup up to show it was still empty. She nodded and put the teapot down. Zim looked away. She was remembering him quicker than he had expected. He knew that when a PAK was placed on a new born smeet, old memories on the PAK would take four minutes to erase and new memories would come into effect a minute after. Zim had planned it that Dib would be holding Hope after four minutes had elapsed so he would have a minute to crawl away from them. He realized now he got his timing a bit wrong as he looked into his daughter's eyes, seeing she could see something familiar between them.

A door from downstairs opened, with a great yell of, "I'm Home!" following. Hope's face lit up and she dashed downstairs, screaming, "Daddy's Home!"

Zim looked at her door in confusion, slowly getting up and following behind her. He crept down this hallway, past the bedrooms and bathrooms, hiding on the top of the stairs, looking down at the scene.

Dib looked older as well. He wore a black suit with smiley face cufflinks. His scythe had zigged and zagged more since they last saw one another. His glasses were also slimmer and looked much better than those huge round ones he used to wear. He picked up his daughter in a huge embrace, dropping his case and lifting her up. She squealed in utter glee, getting loads of kisses from her dad. "Oooh, how is my little girl doing today?"

"I missed you lots, daddy!" she says, hugging him tightly. Something in Zim breaks in two. He knew it was too good to be true. His daughter didn't truly love him as he had hoped. He gave a sigh to himself. But, he perked up, seeing someone else come in now. A woman. Yes, this has to be the _mommy_ Hope was referring to earlier! Finally, Zim would see who this mysterious human is so he can begin plotting to destroy her.

A slim figure came in as Dib put Hope back down. A little bit of her happiness disappeared as the woman, wearing a black dress and blazer walked in. She had short blue hair that spiked slightly into separate fringes. She had dark purple eyes that cursed all those who dare look into them.

Zim covered his mouth, holding back a yell of fear, of anger, of pure confusion and frustration.

How dare Dib do this! How dare he bring this…vile thing into their home and make her Hope's new mother. And why? After she had tried to kill both of them that night everything went wrong!

How dare he have a relationship…with Tak!

**OH NO HE DIDN'T! :o R&R and hope you're enjoying it. Chapter 4 will be up soon (I love how I just name the chapters as soon as I load them. I'm such a dork XD)**


	4. Fall Out

**What's this? An update? Soo soon, you say? Yes, well, Im sitting in History (kinda bored) and decided what the hell? Let's update this bad boy :) Seeing as there actually IS an interest (if there wasn't I would have just left this thing to gather cybernetic dust and would have gone off to cry in corner somewhere) so here I go...updating this when I can and yay for you, today, I felt like updating...yeah B) I'm cool like that.**

**Keep in mind I have slept for about the total of two hours...so sorry for the rambling :)**

**Enjoy Chapter 4 - Fall Out!**

Gaz looked at her brother and his girlfriend, Tak (something she had yet to mention to Zim) in utter shock. They were early. She didn't even have time to warn Zim about the two of them. This was not going to end well for anyone and she was stuck as the piggy in the middle. "Dib? You're home…early," she mumbles to herself.

"Yes, well, the meeting ended early, and we decided what better way to spend the evening than with my favourite little girl," he grins at Hope who laughs, some of her previous happiness returning.

"So, Gaz, is dinner ready for us? The sooner we tuck the little one in, the sooner Dib and I can spend some quality time together," Tak says, grabbing Dib from the back into a hug. Zim makes a slight gagging noise, covering his mouth, trying to keep his imaginary tea down.

Dib looked uncomfortable, but smiled nevertheless. Hope looked up at them, trying to still be happy, "Daddy, we have a guest with us tonight for dinner! We had a tea party together! He's funny!" she giggled. Zim froze in utter horror. He wanted to run. He wanted to go and slap Dib senseless and kill Tak where she stood and take his daughter back. He wanted to go back to the Massive and be tortured, away from this sort of torture. At least there, he had Tunica and Skoodge that could protect him, that could tell him he would be okay. At least there…he could escape this horrid feeling through the path of death.

Gaz was petrified by now. She didn't know how Tak or Dib would react to seeing Zim again and Hope, in her naïve cuteness, had just given it away before she even had a chance to help him. But, there was still hope. "Yes, an…old friend. He's upstairs. I can go and get him," she tried, trying not to sound too panicked.

"Sure, some extra company wouldn't be too bad. We'll go get the table ready," Dib said cheerfully. Tak didn't look too impressed. Gaz nodded as they walked to the dining room. Gaz stopped Hope and looked at her. She whispered to her little niece, "Hope, don't mention Mister Zim's name. Okay? He's very shy. It's a surprise for daddy, okay?"

Hope smiles. She whispered back, "Okay."

She ran off to help her dad.

Gaz looked at Zim in utter horror and confusion. He sat on the floor at the foot of the stairway, covering his mouth as he giggled a panic chuckle to himself. His eyes looked as though he would burst into tears, his other hand placed caringly on his stomach. "Zim?"

He remained giggling, shaking his head, "It wasn't supposed to be like this, Gaz. It was supposed to end with me conquering all humans! It wasn't…"

He looks away, laughing quietly like a maniac. Gaz looks at him, not sure what to do. "You're losing it, Zimmy."

He looked at her, his hand moving away as he sighed, a frown scattered across his face. "It might be better for me to leave, Gaz. I can't do this anymore. I'm gonna stress myself into a coma!"

"Zim…"

"And Tak! She'll kill me before I manage to get down the stairway! No, I have to go before…" he stood halfway through his sentence and gave a grunt as he got to his feet. Gaz was about to help him but he shrugged her off. He was about to start speaking again as he opened his eyes, looking up to her…

When his organs went cold.

Gaz looked at him, seeing that horror on his face. Could it be the baby, she panicked! No, it was something…behind…her…

She looked back to see what had startled him. She jumped backwards into Zim, both of them knocking into the wall lightly, an expression of a deer-caught-in-the-headlights dancing between the both of them.

There Dib stood, absolutely shocked. "Z-Z-Zim…?"

They stood silently, staring at one another blankly. Gaz got up off of Zim and held up her hands at her brother, words forming themselves in her mouth, "Dib, please…don't overre…" She was cut off by her brother shoving her out of the way and grabbing Zim by the collar, shoving him into the wall, slamming him down with a thud. Zim grunts, grabbing Dib's hands, praying he wouldn't aim for his stomach like his sister did, "What the fuck are you doing back here?" he hissed at Zim in a hushed tone, as to not alarm his lover and daughter.

"I…came back…for my…base…had to escape…needed help," he tried in breathless pants, Dib cutting off his air supply. Gaz was up, trying to pull her brother off of Zim. "Dib, stop it! You'll kill him!"  
>Dib swung her off him, slamming her into the wall behind them in this narrow pathway and continuing to slam Zim against the wall. "How dare you return, Zim! How dare you come into this house and…and…"<p>

Zim pushed Dib awkwardly off of him and moved to the foot of the stairs, trying to keep his balance. If he fell backwards down the stairs…he grabbed the railing and looked at Dib, scorn scorching in his eyes, "Human, enough!" he gasped, taking in some much needed air, "You're not thinking straight! You're gonna do something you're going to regret."

Gaz mumbled from the floor and pulled herself up by one of the tables up here, "Dib, please…"

"No, Gaz! Don't you dare defend him! Don't you dare believe the lies he's been telling you! He has no excuse for leaving his own child behind for four years!" Dib finally snapped and screamed. He swung up and punched Zim between the eyes, sending him falling backwards.

Zim gave a gasp as his feet left the ground. He knew if he went tumbling down the stairway, his child would be in great danger and both of them could die. His PAK responded to his panic and activated his spider legs. They grabbed a hold of the railings and he hung backwards, holding his stomach tightly, instinct taking over. Gaz and Dib stood watching him from the top step and Tak and Hope (who had come to see what all the yelling was about) stood at the bottom step, looking up at him. His wig fell off from his head as he looked at them, his head upside down. He flipped over, his spider legs returning to his PAK as he caught his balance on the middle step, between all the chaos surrounding him.

Tak looked annoyed and suspicious.

Dib looked furious and threatening.

Gaz looked disappointed and concerned.

And Hope…was as confused and scared as ever.

Zim stood there, wishing he would just wake up from this Nightmare and be back on the Massive. At least that nightmare was better than this.

They sat quietly together at the dining room table. Tak sat next to Dib, looking directly at Zim who was opposite to her, Gaz next to him. He was pale again. Gaz was a bit worried about how the baby had taken the fall and the shock, but right now, they had more important issues to take care of.

Hope was upstairs in her room in bed. Gaz tucked her in and told her she would explain this tomorrow to her. For now, the grown-ups needed to talk.

Dib had calmed down a little, but still had the erg to strangle Zim where he sat. Gaz held Zim's hand from beneath the table. Zim wasn't sure why she was doing it, but was too distracted to care. His stomach was in knots and he occasionally had a slight pain spread through it. He was hoping nothing was wrong. He believed it was probably because of the look Dib was shooting him right now. Tak was not impressed by Zim at this point in time. She looked rather annoyed that he was still alive more than anything else.

"I'm giving you one chance to explain yourself, Zim. You're lucky I'm even giving you that," Dib spat out at the alien. Zim's pale pink eyes didn't waver from his attacker's remarks. He was still firm in his arrogance and wasn't going to give the human the satisfaction of a staring-battle victory. He was terrified at this point in time, though.

He took a breath, and began, "The night I left Earth was the night I nearly died. I had ripped off my own PAK in order to save Hope's life. An old invader friend of mine found me half dead and took me to our leaders on the Massive in order to get me some medical attention. According to the time in space, I was only gone for six months. I never realized it was…four years…" he trailed off, his tone going cold. Dib stood in fury, reaching across for Zim by the shoulders, pulling him up from his seat. Gaz stood, as did Tak, trying to stop the two from fighting.

"Dib, let go off him!" Gaz tried, pulling Zim free and holding onto his arms as Zim tried to stay up.

Tak held onto Dib, "I know he's lying my love, but this isn't the way to solve your problems." She took out a gun from her PAK and aimed it at Zim. Gaz protested as Dib grabbed the gun from Tak. "No, Tak. Not while Hope is here," he said, placing the gun on the table away from her. Zim's legs felt weak, but he forced himself to stay upright, another pang hitting his spooch. His stress was getting to him now.

"You…you're a jackass, you know that?" Dib said as Zim gave him a look of anger. "You can't expect us to be fine with you just coming back here after leaving Hope for four years. And that excuse of losing track of time is a load of bull and you know it!"

"Call it what you like, Dib-stink, but it's the truth. I came back to Earth after escaping from the Massive…"

"That's the first flaw of your lie, Zim," Tak said, giving him a glare. "The Tallests would never help you. If you really came to them near death, they would have left you to die!"

"Not if I had something they wanted!" he yelled back at her, Gaz still holding onto him, realizing his body was going to give out on him. She hated the fact that she was helping this moron…but she had to.

"I liked you better when I thought you were dead, Zim," she screeched back at him in annoyance.

"Fuck you, Tak! What the hell are you even doing here? With this human! How dare you pose as _my_ child's mother! I should kill you where you stand!"

"Then why don't you?" she challenged.

"Enough!" Gaz finally took charge and silenced everyone with her loud voice. "Enough. Hope is upstairs, listening to her parents yelling at one another over nothing."  
>"This is not nothing…" Dib tried, threatening his sister when she shot him a look, "Dib, don't start. Zim is in no condition to fight any of us right now…"<p>

"I'll bet," He laughed scornfully. Zim gave him a look, terror in his eyes. He knew telling Dib about his other child would be a bad idea, but this is where the conversation seemed to be heading. "It's true, Dib-human."

Dib looked at him, ordering him to shut up with his look of utter hatred. "Why don't you just leave, Zim? You are not wanted here!"

"My base is gone, my ship was destroyed on landing and my daughter is here. You do the Math, you weak-minded fool!" Zim roared at Dib.

"She's not your daughter!"

Zim's eyes went wide in fury, "You didn't give birth to her that night…!"

"And I didn't abandon her!"  
>"I EXPLAINED THAT!"<p>

Dib jumped across the table, tackling Zim to the ground, Gaz's grip on him slipping away as the two fought with one another. Dib swings a punch against Zim's head. His antennae rang in confusion, but Zim fought back, kneeing Dib in the groin. Dib howled and jumped off of him, tears running down his face. Zim sat up and looked over at Dib. Tak made a grab for the gun, but Gaz was up from her shock and knocked it off the table and into the next room, Tak gave her a look of irritation, "Why are you defending him, Gaz?" she said in an angry tone.

"Everyone deserves a second chance," she says, going up to the two. Dib pulled himself up, Tak helping him. Zim lay against the wall, still holding his stomach, hoping nothing was wrong as his head raced.

Tak glanced over at the hated invader, "Go, Zim. Take my advice and just go."

Gaz helped Zim up, holding onto him, "I'll take you to your room."

Dib shook his head, "No! No, no, no. I will not allow this…this…this _thing_ in my house hold!"

"Dib, if you haven't been paying attention, Zim has nowhere else to go. Tomorrow, I will find him a hotel to stay in, but for the moment, at least give him one of the spare rooms," Gaz told her brother sternly, feeling Zim's shivering body shake next to hers. Zim wasn't even aware he was doing it. He guessed his body was just weak when she mentioned it to him at a later stage.

Dib shot a disgusted look at him and thought of Hope. He gave a sigh as he straightened his vest, Tak still standing by him, "Fine." With that, he walked off into the kitchen to make some tea for himself, no longer in the mood for dinner. Tak slowly followed behind him, her antennae flicking up at Zim. He gave an annoyed look, knowing Tak had just swore at him in Irken customs. Gaz helped Zim stand straighter, but he gave a moan, shaking his head, "Please don't make me stand straight."

Gaz gave him look of concern. She was hoping all that throwing around and tackling didn't hurt the baby and simply nodded at him, helping him up the stairs to his room.

A few meters away from the door, Zim collapsed finally, out like a light. His body had lost all energy and his PAK needed to recharge. Gaz got a fright from him suddenly falling over, but managed to keep hold of him and pulled him over to the room, kicking open the slightly open door and dragging him over to the bed. She took of his boots and jacket and left them on the chair in the room. She put the blanket over his still shivering body and put the heater in the room on. It had started raining a few minutes after they made it up the stairs. She sat on the bed and sighed, looking over at Zim. "What is wrong with you, Zim? Dib had finally gotten over what had happened that night, all those years ago, and then you had to rock up here again with your "I'm pregnant and need help" nonsense," she said in utter annoyance.

She looked at his weak face, seeing the bags underneath his eyes, his breath a bit off time. She looked down, "I can't imagine what your leaders did to you for you to come back here, of all places."

She paused, "Look, Zim, I hate you as much as my brother does. But Hope…I don't know, she's changed something in all of us and…I will stand by you. Not because I like you, not because you're pregnant and especially not because I like you…because Hope needs her mother…father right now. And I don't trust Tak for one second. She's up to something, and you may be the only one who can stop her."

She stood, giving a sigh, "Sleep tight, Zimmy. Aunty Gaz has a lot of work to do."

She looked back at his limp body on the bed, and closed the door behind her.

**Poor Zim, I am just being mean to him, aren't I? Ah well. Please Review as I get the next chapter ready (might update tomorrow or the next day...it will be sometime soon though) :D**


	5. Kiss

**Ooooooh my Gosh! These reviews are just inspiring me to update...during class XD Thank you guys sooooo much for the support. Keep on reviewing. The more reviews there are, the more I feellike updating :)**

**The story is now getting interesting. We now find out what really happened to Zim and Dib for Hope to come into being (don't worry, no saucy scenes or anything...I'll use those for a later fic on these guys...maybe)**

**Enjoy the chapter. I post the next one as soon as possible ^_^**

"Skoodge, promise me you'll try and get yourself out of here as well," Zim mumbled to himself.

"I'll do what I can Zim. But right now, you need to get out of here first," Skoodge replied, sitting on the edge of Zim's bed.

"Tunica? Look after him while I'm gone," Zim looked up to see Tunica standing next to Skoodge, smiling weakly over to him.

"I promise Zim," she nodded.

Zim looked down, "I promise…" he whispered to himself…

His eyes flickered opened. He groaned as he sat up. Rubbing his eyes, he noticed he still had his contacts on. He looked around the room in confusion. It was dark, probably because of the rain that he could hear from outside. He looked down at the cream coloured sheets that covered him. He moaned, bringing his legs over the side of the bed, taking his contacts off and placing it on the table next to his bed. He rested his elbows on his knees, his head low as he gazed down at his stomach. The pains from earlier had gone. He had hoped this wasn't a bad thing. He put a hand on his flat stomach, a bit worried. He then flinched, a kick to the spooch assuring him everything was just fine. He gave a small smile, standing and stretching. He looked over to the clock. 02.34am. He had fallen asleep for a good couple of hours. He felt better than he did that afternoon, but he was still very weak. He walked over to the window to look out at the stars for a moment, if there were any to see through the rain. He sighed, something warming up inside him. The stars reminded him of home…if he even had a home anymore. He missed being an invader, on Irk, with his loving leaders on his side once more. Ever since this whole thing started, all those years ago while he was on his mission, his life had gone from worse to worse than that. It seemed his problems were never ending and he didn't know what he was going to do about this. All because of that one day…all those years ago…

….

He was still on his 'mission' on Earth. It had been seven human years now that he had been stuck on this filthy planet. He had changed schools, no longer in Grade school but in High School. It was, from what he had learnt, the last year of schooling he had left before something called University. It annoyed him how much schooling the humans needed to go through only to still not know anything about anything. On Irk, you learnt everything you needed in a split second a few minutes after being alive.

He did find this all very useful, though. He was learning enough about Earth and its weaknesses. He just found it irritating that it was taking this long. Every day he was sure the Massive would arrive any minute for the Invasion. Of course, this never really happened. The Massive was never going to come. In fact, the only Irken he still in contact with was Skoodge who had moved galaxies on a separate (fake) mission from the Tallests.

Either way, Zim was happy, living the lie he was. He had his mission and that was all he needed. The only thing still getting in his way was, of course, Dib.

He was in the same High School as Zim, stopping his evil plans any chance he got. They got into a fight every other week. They were always arguing with one another over the tiniest of things. The students often joked they were their own debating teams and teens from miles would come and watch their stupid arguments, knowing there would be a fight by the end of each. It was like they were those two kids that met one another when Zim first landed on this filthy planet.

Zim had tried to modify his disguise as best he could to fit in with the teenagers, even changing his normal uniform, but he still stood out from the crowd. Dib still could not convince anyone that Zim was an alien, no matter how hard he tried, though, and so, nothing much had change, just the age of the characters. And the height. Zim had gotten a bit taller since he arrived (theorizing it was either an experiment that blew up in his face and accidently made him taller, or it was the gravity on Earth itself. He wasn't really sure yet, but he didn't argue with it).

Yes, nothing had really changed…but one day, something happened to make both their lives change forever.

…

Gaz sat in her bedroom, a book on Zombies in her hands. She paged through it, not really concentrating on the gore and violence that splattered across the pages. Her mind was still focused on Zim. She was recalling the day that all this had started. The whole issue with Hope and everything. She couldn't help but think, of how that one event changed everything.

…

She was also in High School, a few grades below her brother. She remembered that day as well. She remembered she was putting her books away in her locker. She was on her way to her next class when fighting erupted further down the hallway. She sighed, knowing exactly who and what it was. Zim and Dib had gotten into another fight over something stupid. They tumbled over one another, slamming each other into the lockers. Teens gather in groups around them, cheering them on to continue fighting. Gaz stood, shaking her head and watching as the two fought. People chanted their names furiously, hoping to see at least one of them knocked out. Dib smacked Zim's head against one of the metal lockers, his lip already bleeding. Zim grunted, forcing down a yell, knowing it would only give the Dib-human some form of satisfaction. He pushed down onto the locker with all his force, Dib falling backward and hitting the lockers on the other side of the hallway. The kids cheered as Zim stood over Dib, fixing his hair (wig) back into place. "That was a mistake, Worm-monkey."

He was about to jump onto Dib, from which he would have proceeded to pound Dib into the ground over and over…but Dib had moved. He had tried to move and get up and counterattack Zim by grabbing his arms and forcing him to the ground, using his own weight against him.

This did not work in either of their favours.

And so, this became the event that was to ruin and unite their two lives for the best and the worst…for the rest of their days.

Their lips smacked together awkwardly, Zim falling on Dib due to his movement out of place. Shock and Horror painted itself over their faces as the kids silenced for a moment. Zim pulled himself off of Dib, falling over onto his ass as the two stare at one another, embarrassed. The teens suddenly burst into hysterical laughter as the two still stare at each other. Dib couldn't believe what had just happened. Zim couldn't make sense of it himself. He jumped up and shoved his way past laughing students. Dib just sat there, unable to move. Gaz stood in shock herself. She didn't know whether she should have laughed or have helped her brother. She did neither. She just stood and watched as everyone laughed and her brother sat there.

That one kiss that took mere seconds caused a pain that lasted for weeks that would slowly turn into months that would eventually turn into years. Zim found that a few weeks after that kiss, he had been getting really ill, throwing up every other day, no matter what he ate. He felt miserable one moment, then really happy the next, then really upset, back to angry and eventually sad and confused. He didn't understand it…till he got his computer to do a test on him.

….

He sighed. And now, he was going through all of this all over again. He looked at his flat stomach, wondering quietly to himself, "Some say this should be the most joyous thing that has ever happened to me…I don't get it."

He swung around, hearing his door move slightly. He looked around the room for some form of weapon to protect himself. He grabbed a lamp on the table next to the bed and slowly made his way to the door. Maybe Dib decided it was time to finish Zim off in his sleep. Maybe Tak figured no one would notice her silently torturing him like she used to those foolish irken elite that got in her way back at the Academy. He placed a claw on the handle, taking a breath, before opening the door, ready to strike. He looked around to see there was no one there. But as his gaze drifted around, they locked on something in front of him, just a little lower down. He looked down to see Hope standing at the door holding tightly onto her piggy.

He dropped the lamp onto the floor, it hitting the mat in his room (thankfully keeping it from breaking) as he bent over to Hope's eye level slowly, "Hope? What are you…?"

She looked down, looking as though she would burst into tears. Zim panicked. He'd never seen his daughter upset like this. He put his large hands on her smaller shoulders, holding onto her gently, "What's wrong?"

She pulled away from his grip, still looking down, "You made daddy upset. I thought Aunty Gaz said you were friends."

Zim pulled back, his hands shaking as they remained stuck in mid-air. He put them on his knees, "I didn't mean to make him upset, Hope. We…just got into a fight…"

Tears streamed down her face. Zim fell back onto his ass, fear on his face. "Hope, don't cry," he whispered. She looked at him, "Daddy never gets angry like that."

Zim's legs relaxed as they spread across the floor, his hands rested between them. He looked down, closing his eyes, "You should have seen him when we were kids," he mumbled to himself.

Hope wiped her face with one of her sleeves and walked into the room, standing in between Zim's legs where his hands were rested. His eyes glanced up at her, but his head remained still. She sniffed and looked at him with big wet gold eyes, "I'm sorry if d-daddy hurt you."

His head shot up, making Hope jumping back, "Y-you're sorry?"

She gave a small frightened nod. Zim looked away, trying not to look his daughter in the eyes, "Y-you shouldn't be sorry. He was right to get upset with me, Hope."

She looked at him, then looked down, "He still was wrong to hurt you."

Zim stood, Hope looking up at him. He looked at her, a frown on his face, "You should probably go back to bed, Hope. It's late and a growing sme..girl like yourself needs sleep."

She looked at him. She then turned and looked at the hallway. She stayed still. Zim sat on the bed, "And now?"

She turned to look at him. "Can I sleep here with you?"

He nearly jolted back on his bed, but calmed himself, knowing that would simply frighten the already scared little girl in front of him. "Wh-what? Why?

She looked down, "I'm scared."

"Of what?" he said, concerned.

She looked at her piggy, "Of…Mommy."

His eyes went wide in anger. That son of a…

He looked at his daughter, picking her up. She held onto him tightly as they made their way over to the bed. He carefully placed Hope against is chest, her piggy still in her arms as she lay against his big booming chest. He pulled the blanket over both of them as Hope snuggled closer to Zim, smiling slightly. Zim kept his arm wrapped around her, his other arm behind his head. She looked up at Zim, "Thank you."

He looked at her, "You're welcome, Hope."

She smiled, closing her eyes, "I'm glad you came back, daddy," she mumbled, falling off to sleep. Zim's antennae shot up. He looked down at his daughter, nearly gasping and throwing the child off of him. She knew. He was right. She knew from the beginning who he was, didn't she?

He laid further back, getting comfortable, thoughts racing through his mind. He couldn't believe the night he had.

The sun rose at about 06.30. Zim hadn't slept since Hope had entered his room. Too many thoughts and fears kept him awake. His eyes kept locked on the door. He thought Dib would burst in at any moment and beat the crap out of him again. At least this time, Zim had more of a chance of winning considering he was rested. He thought of Tak coming in and hurting Hope, which just infuriated him further. He watched as light poured into the room from the window he had been standing in front of a few hours earlier. Hope moved once or twice to get more comfortable, but was a quiet sleeper.

He looked up as a shadow walked across the floor underneath the door. Someone was awake, and in a hurry. Zim's eyes followed the shadow as it disappeared, his antennae trying to pick up the sounds of this person. He heard a door open slowly. His grip on his daughter tightened. He heard mumbling and a yell of pure anger. He jumped, Hope screaming awake. The door of his room slammed open, Hope screaming again as she grabbed a hold of Zim's neck. Dib looked around in a panic and saw Hope with Zim, his arms around his daughter. Hope was crying again, fear all over her face. Zim looked as equally panicked. Dib ran in and snatched his daughter off of Zim.

She screamed, trying to hold on to her daddy. Zim let go, not wanting Hope to get hurt. "What the hell do you think you're doing with my daughter, Zim?" he yelled, Gaz and Tak appearing by the doorway now.

"What's going on?" Gaz asked, worried if Hope was okay.

"He took Hope in the middle of the night! God knows what he's done to her," he said, holding tightly onto his struggling daughter.

"He didn't! He didn't!" Hope cried, trying to loosen her father's tight hold.

Zim stood from the bed, looking at Dib in a neutral tone, "I didn't do a thing to her, Dib."  
>"Lies!" Tak screamed from the doorway. Gaz wanted to tackled her down, but stood there, hoping her brother wouldn't overreact again.<p>

Zim didn't want to start yelling, his daughter already scared out of her mind. Dib walked out, holding onto Hope. She looked back at Zim reaching for him. He gave her a nod, telling her he'd be okay. Dib slammed the door behind him. Zim slid onto the floor, sitting there alone and heartbroken.

**Agh, that cow! (I could be referring to Dib or Tak here, can you figure out who?)**

**Sorry for over repeating myself here in the story. I wrote this LATE at night and I have a tendency to ramble when I'm tired ^^'**

**R&R and I will return tomorrow**


	6. Sick!

**Oooooh my God! TWO CHAPTER IN ONE DAY!**

**Yes, well, Invader Hope is just amazingly awesome enough to update twice in one day! (Also, i did say it would happen if I was bored...which I am)**

**This chapter also has a better cliffhanger sort of thing than the last one (you thought that was bad! Hahahahahaahahahaha...wait till you see what I still have planned next!)**

**ONWARD...!**

**Oh! Before I forget. For those who are grossed out by puking (like my dear friend Tunica is X_X) you might want to skip through the puking scenes...just saying.**

**Okay, now...ONWARD!**

* * *

><p>Gaz opened the door after pausing before it for a few minutes. Her brother had left hours ago, but it was taking Gaz a while to convince herself to check on Zim. She looked around, searching for the former invader. Her eyes caught him in the right hand corner of the room, his legs across the floor. His body rested against the wall, his eyes closed. He opened them, looking at Gaz before he closed them again. She walked over to him, still dressed in her purple and back nightdress. "Hey."<p>

"Hey," he said in a strained voice.

She sat next to him, bringing her knees closer to her body. He opened his eyes barely and looked forward. "Is Hope okay?"

Gaz nodded, "She's out with her dad and Tak today. It's Saturday and his only time with his daughter. They usually go out and do something fun on the weekends because he's so busy during the week. She didn't seem to be in the mood for it, though."

There was silence for a moment.

"She came to see you last night, didn't she?" Gaz said, still looking forward.

"Gaz, please…" Zim shook his head weakly.

"She wanted to talk about Dib and you."

"Gaz…!" he whined, his voice sounding serious.

"She wanted to sleep with you because she was frightened of Tak."

Zim covered his mouth, but couldn't hold back. He jolted upright, vomiting all over the floor in front of them. Gaz sat upright and held onto his back, rubbing it as he took a breath, mumbling apologises under his breath as he spat the remaining bile from his mouth. She helped him up as he stayed hunched over, a hand on his stomach, the other on his mouth.

She slid the cold cola towards Zim. His head rose from his arms. She sat on the dining room table's edge, Zim taking the drink from the table, opening the can. He stared at it for a moment, before taking a small sip. Gaz kept an eye on him, the bucket nearby this time. "How's that?"

He took a breath, and nodded, "Fine. But I d-don't think I can keep down any more of it."

She nodded. "Sorry about that, Zim."  
>He shook his head, putting the can back on the table, "Don't' know why you're apologizing. I'm the one who threw up all over your carpet and you had to clean it up!"<p>

She grinned, "I always hated that carpet anyway. Dib picked it up at a flea market. You've given me an excuse as to why I got rid of it."

Zim gave a small laugh at that. Gaz's grin disappeared. "I didn't mean to push you like that. That's why I said sorry."

Zim looked up at her, his turn to grin, "Its fine. I was probably going to puke either way today."  
>"Morning sickness?"<p>

He sighed, looking back down, "Stress plus morning sickness, I guess. This smeet does a lot of strange things to me when it wants me to stop something. Like, for example, I couldn't eat my favourite brand of chips back on the Massive, because _someone_ didn't like them. So, anytime I had them, I was sick. So annoying," he grumbled.

Gaz smiled at him. She then got a thoughtful look, "I'm surprised at you, Zim."

"Why do you say that?"

"You're just…I don't know," she turned, going to get her car keys off the counter.

"Amazing beyond words? Yes, I know that part," he grinned. ""What are you doing?"

"I am doing you a favour," she twirled the keys in her hands, "We're going for a drive. Come on."

"And _why_ are we doing that?" he inquired.

"I read somewhere that walking can help take your mind off morning sickness. Besides, I need to get some groceries for the house. We need to get some food in you. I'm getting tired of dragging your ass all over the place because you pass out every 20 minutes."

He gave her a look.

"So," Zim said, looking out the window, "What are we doing again?"

"We're going shopping for food for your daughter," Gaz said, making a turn for the mall.

Zim sighed, "I hate the mall. All the humans in such a small place annoy me."

"Deal with it."

She parked off the car and off they went. Zim still looked rather ill, but he managed to keep the cola down since he drank it, so this was a good sign. "Okay, Hope needs some more soya milk and a few fruits for lunch next week. Dib needs me to pick up his tux for the conference at the end of the week and I need to pick up some shoe polish for my boots. We also need to get food for you, Zim."

He looked at her sceptically, "I don't think I can actually eat human foods."

"Well, we're gonna give it a shot. You have two people to feed, remember that."

He rolled his eyes and looked at her, "Our society eats mainly junk food, so that would be my best guess."

She shrugged and pulled out a trolley, going into the store with the sulking invader.

She got what she needed for Hope and her shoe polish. She got a few other household items and got a few snacks for Zim to try like chips, chocolate, doughnuts and pancakes. They continued browsing before hitting the checkout line and heading to the cleaners to pick up Dib's tux. Zim grunted, getting annoyed. "What's wrong?" Gaz asked, glancing over at him while they continued walking.

"This walking isn't really making me feel any better. It's just making my feet hurt," he moaned.

She gave a slight laugh, Zim giving her an even more annoyed look, "It's because you're pregnant. The extra weight from the baby…"

"Yeah, yeah," Zim moaned. "The medics explained this to me. That's why they didn't want me walking around too much."

"What did they do with you, then?" she asked, curious.

"They kept me in a cell. It wasn't too crappy, I suppose. I was unconscious most of the time, so it didn't need to be comfortable."

She looked away. Zim moaned again, "Please can we sit down."

"Sure," she said, moving the trolley over to a bench.

Zim sat down and sighed, rubbing the sides of his feet through his boots. Gaz sat next to him, "Maybe if you wore more comfortable shoes…"

"Hey, this is the Irken uniform," he protested, sitting straight, "We wear it in pride and suffer the consequences with no complaint."

"But you are complaining…"

"Shut up!" he said, going back to rubbing the sides of his feet.

Gaz looked up and say a men's store across from them. She stood and walked off. "Hey," Zim said, looking up, "Where're you going?"

"I'll be back. You relax a bit. Try having one of the sodas we just bought. I'll be back in a few."

Zim sat there in confusion, but shrugged, reaching into one of the plastic packets to get a soda.

He sat there for a good half an hour, playing with the can's tag in his fingers, bored. After ten minutes he considered going home…but Gaz had the keys…and well, he didn't actually know how to drive one of those things.

He had managed to finish about a quarter of the can, but started feeling sick again and decided to leave the rest. The tag was proving to give some entertainment, though.

Gaz finally came up to him, carrying two bags of clothing and stuff she got from the store. He looked at her, "And now? What took you so long? What the hell are those?"

"A surprise for later. Come, let's get Dib's suit and go home," she grinned, putting the packets into the trolley and heading off. Zim stood and followed.

Gaz parked the car off in the garage and got the groceries out of the boot. Zim helped take in a few packets for her, with ranting from her that he should be relaxing in his condition. He left them in the kitchen and went to the lounge, kicking off his boot and relaxing on the couch. Gaz packed away the foods and left the tux hanging on the door. She then took the two packets she went to get while Zim relaxed and brought them to the lounge. Zim looked over at her as she put in on the couch he was sitting on. He looked at the packets and then looked into one of them. He gave a look, "Clothes?"

"Take them out and take a look," she smiled softly.

He looked at her and reached into the packet. He stood, looking at the black shirt with a strange blue star logo on it. It was huge, about three times the size of Zim. He looked at it, "What am I supposed to do with this? Use it for a blanket when I get cold? Seriously, how do human's reach this size?"

She stood taking a few more out from the bag. She had about three shirts, mostly black. She held up one that resembled the black shirt with pink stripped long sleeves he wore currently, "This is my favourite."

She also took out a pair of short boots and a pair of black jeans that were a bit baggy. "Why buy these things?" he asked, putting the shirt down on the couch with the others.

Gaz sat in her normal seat and looked at him, her face resting on her hands, her elbows on her knees. "They're for you."

He looked at her as though she had just insulted him, "Are you calling me fat?"

She gave him a look, "Since you arrived, you have yet to take off any of your clothes besides your jacket and boots, which in all fairness, I had to take off of you."

"Your point?"

"You haven't proven to me that you're pregnant yet, Zimmy," she said, sitting straight.

"Well, I don't think one of my alien powers includes throwing up on demand, human," he said with a sceptical look on his face.

"Why don't you want to show off your stomach?"

"Why do you want to see it?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"What are you insinuating?"

They stared one another down.

"Take it off," Gaz said, smirking at the alien.

"No," he said firmly.

"Take-it-off," she demanded, standing as a slyness washed over her body.

"No!" Zim protested, standing as well.

She darted for a shirt and jumped on him, knocking him into the chair. They struggle for a moment, before she stood, dusting her hands. Zim looked at her, the shirt hanging off his skinny frame awkwardly. "This looks stupid."

"Well, I didn't know how big you were so I got different sizes. That's the biggest one. This is a smaller one. Maybe if you finally took off that shirt that covers up the bump…"

Zim gave an annoyed groan and threw the shirt off of himself. "Fine!"

He snatched the smaller shirt from Gaz and threw it on the couch in front of him, taking his jacket off. Gaz sat back down, blowing a piece of her purple hair out of the way, smirking in victory.

Zim got his sleeved shirt off, showing that he had another black sleeveless shirt underneath that one! "God, how many shirts do you have on?"

"Just these two plus the jacket. The first two layers are my standard uniform. This shirt is a device that can manipulate images, making my stomach seem as flat as ever," he grinned, "Irken technology."

"Makes sense your species would build something to cover things up," she said, a raised eyebrow. Zim gave her a look. He looked at the shirt, looking a bit nervous. Gaz looked at him, "What's up? Can't you take it off?"

"No, I can…" he came in, but stopped, looking unsure still. "It's just…I haven't taken it off in a long time."

"How long is a long time?"

"About two months," he mumbled.

"Wow, that is a long time," she said in shock. "Why so long?"

Even he wasn't sure of that one. He looked at her, shrugging sadly. She gave him a nod, I'll turn around, if you want me to."

He nodded. She closed her eyes and turned in her seat awkwardly, away from him.

Zim took a breath and reached down, pulling the leather like cloth off of himself. He closed his eyes through it all. He threw the shirt on the floor and reached across to the couch, looking for the shirt he left there. He found it and pulled it over himself. He opened his eyes and looked down in utter shock. He was a lot bigger than he expected.

"Oh my Irk!" he cried.

Gaz span around, worried. She then saw him and finally, it hit her. There stood Zim, the same alien she had met years before, only taller…and pregnant. Heavily pregnant. "Oh my God," she mumbled to herself. She went over to Zim. He looked at her and gave a little laugh of embarrassment. "I didn't think I'd be this big."

She laughed, "Neither did I." She looked down at his stomach and then at him, "This…is way too weird, you know that, right?"

He gave her a grin, "You have no idea."

After packing the new clothes away in the cupboard in his room, Zim put on an old pair of Dib's jeans that were dark navy and his black sleeveless shirt. He walked downstairs to see Gaz was making lunch. She was making pancakes. She turned and gave Zim a look of approval, "Not bad."

He gave her a smirk and sat down, "What else did you expect from someone as Almighty as me?"

She rolled her eyes and put another pancake on the plate that had a stack of about ten already. "So, when is Dib and them arriving back home so I can go and hide?" Zim mumbled to himself, looking at the newspaper on the table.

Gaz looked back at him, "They'll be back in a few minutes. Dib called while you were getting changed. Hope wasn't really enjoying herself and wanted to come home. Hiding might be a good idea, actually."

Zim sighed. "Poor Hope."

"Why do you say that?"

He looked away and then back at Gaz, "She knows, Gaz. She…remembers who I am."

Her eyes went wide, "H-how do you…?"

"She mumbled something in her sleep. That she was glad I came back for her. That's why she was so upset when Dib took her away from me this morning. When he finds out…"

"My God, you are so screwed," she said sadly.

"Thanks for that," he glares at her.

She leant against the counter next to the stove, thinking. "We're gonna have to tell him."

"Tell him what?" Zim muttered loudly, looking worried.

"About the new child," she glanced at him.

He bolted out of his seat, and looked at her, "That would be stupid."

"Yes, it would be," she admitted, "However, it would also insure your child's safety."

He looked at her in confusion. "Dib is a jerk, and a moron and a lot of other things. But he's not a monster. He won't hurt you if he knows you're carrying his child."

Zim gave her a thoughtful look, "I don't want him to take pity on me, Gaz."

"Stop thinking about your arrogance for once and think about your child, Zim," she sternly stated.

Zim stuck his tongue out at her and pouted, "My smeet is a lot stronger than you think, human. All that fighting last night caused no harm to it, now did it?"

"That's not what's I'm worried about," Gaz said as a side thought, moving the pan with a now burning pancake on it off the ring.

Zim looked up at her and sighed. "Blah, blah, blah."

Gaz sat down with a plate of pancakes for herself and Zim. She put the plate in the middle of the table with chocolate sauce and maple syrup next to them. "Dig in."

"I don't know about this, Gaz. I've barely been able to keep less than half a can of coke down," he mentioned, shaking his head at the plate as she poured some chocolate over it.

She cut off a small piece and handed it to him, "Give it a shot, at least. I don't care about whether or not you have eaten in the past two days. I'm worried about the baby. It needs food too."

Zim wanted to argue with her, but he couldn't. He took the fork from Gaz and stuck the piece of chocolate laced pancake in his mouth, chewing on it with a horrid look on his face.

"Oh, it's not that bad, you big baby!" Gaz muttered, cutting off a piece for herself.

But Zim couldn't take it. It was that bad. Human food was awful. He swallowed it, knowing the smeet would keep some of it down. That's all he needed to do. Feed the child, at least.

He reached over and slowly ate pieces from the pancake. Gaz could see he was forcing each bite down. She was quite surprised at the sacrifices he was making for his child. She would have never believed this was the same Zim her brother always complained about. He managed to finish a pancake and a half before starting to feel ill. He dropped his fork and shook his head. "No more," he moaned, gagging slightly.

Gaz took back the plate, "You did a good job there. Next time we'll try for two, eh?"

He sat back, his hand on his mouth, the other on his stomach as he tried keeping down his food. Gaz gave him a look, "Please try not to be sick at the table. I'm at least enjoying the food. Don't ruin it for me too."

"I'm trying," he mumbled. But he couldn't do it and bolted for the bathroom upstairs. Gaz sighed, finishing off her second pancake. "Better get used to this, I suppose."

She looked up as she heard the front door open. "We're home," Dib mumbled as he walked into the house. Hope was gone, running upstairs to her room. Tak and Dib strolled over to the kitchen, Dib looking defeated. "I take it she didn't enjoy her day out then," Gaz said, putting her plate in the sink as Dib sat at the table, Tak standing by the door, leaning against the frame.

"She was miserable. She was so upset about what happened this morning," Dib said, anger rising, "Zim must have told her something. Did you find a hotel for him yet? I want him gone."

"No," Gaz said, sitting back down, "I've been busy doing house work and shopping. Zim spent the day in his room, not bothering anyone. And don't blame him for your daughter's attitude. How would you feel if you saw our dad acting the way you did yesterday to anyone? She's scared of you."

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were defending him, Gaz," Tak said from the door.

Gaz shot her a nasty look, warning her to shut up. Dib looked around, "Where is Zim anyway? Still in his room?"

They heard a flush from upstairs. Gaz sighed. "No, he's been throwing up for most of the day. I'll go see how he is." She brushed past Tak, nearly knocking her into the wall. Tak growled at her.

Zim walked out of the bathroom, wiping his mouth, feeling miserable. He managed to keep some of his food down, but not a lot. He sighed and looked up, seeing a small figure on Hope's bed. She was looking up at her father in concern. "Hope…" he muttered to himself.

She bolted up and tackled his legs, grabbing a hold of them in a hug. She was almost crying again. Zim bent down and gave her a proper hug, not really sure why when he thought about it, "Are you okay?" Zim asked.

"I just…missed you," she said, hugging him tightly. He closed his eyes, "I missed you too, Hope."

"Promise you won't leave me again," she whispered to him in a breaking voice.

He looked her in her golden eyes, "I promise." She gave him a smile and broke away. "What about daddy?"

Zim stood, rubbing his neck nervously, "Eh, I don't know about that, Hope."

She frowned. Gaz reached the final step and looked at the two of them, "Are you guys okay?" she said, her words failing her as confusion took over.

Zim gave Hope a smile, "We're okay." She smiled at him.

"Do you want some lunch, Hope? I made pancakes for us," she smiled at her niece. She gave a delighted laugh and went downstairs. Gaz looked at Zim. She could see the strain in his eyes, and the paleness of his face. "You okay?"

He looked at her, his eyes relaxing, "I don't know anymore."

"I think you need a nap," she tried.

"I think I need a gun," he mumbled.

Gaz sat with Hope in the lounge, playing with her blocks and building a castle for her princess. Tak was in her room, busy plotting and scheming away, unbeknownst to the others. Dib was sitting in his office, playing with a pen, deep in thought. Zim had gone back to his room after lunch. He didn't eat a thing, just being there because Hope wanted him there.

His pen tapped the table as his thoughts left him. He sighed, rubbing his eyes, tired. He couldn't believe after four years, Zim had finally returned. Dib couldn't make sense of it. And what had Zim been telling Hope when he was at work? Why was Gaz supporting Zim? Was he maybe telling them the truth? Was he really held hostage by his own leaders?

He sat back, his hands behind his head. He couldn't deal with this right now. He was so happy with his life. He had even gotten over the fact that Hope was Zim's daughter. It had taken him months of frustration before he got over it and began truly loving Hope for who she was, for what she was. He looked down, realizing why Hope became so close to Zim so quickly. He stood from his chair. He couldn't postpone this any longer.

He carefully opened the door to Zim's room, being sure that Zim wasn't ready and waiting to attack him. But he wasn't. Dib opened the door fully and saw the alien on the bed, lying on his back, asleep. His eyebrows raised in utter horror and confusion.

Zim had taken off his shirt and was wearing a much looser human shirt that Gaz probably bought him. He couldn't believe it. That's why Zim had disappeared for so long. That's why he didn't come back.

Dib stood frozen, something within him going cold. He wanted to go over to Zim and shake him senseless. How dare he go off and get pregnant again…but what if? What if that was Dib's…?

He collapsed into the door, holding onto it so he wouldn't fall over. Gaz grabbed hold of him before he collapsed over. He turned, nearly screaming, but Gaz covered his mouth. "Shh," she whispered.

She dragged his body outside and closed the door. She moved her hand away and looked at her brother, "So…now you know."

"He told you? When?" he muttered, his breath too quick for Gaz's liking.

"The first day he arrived. I swung a few punches for his stomach and he dodged each one. It didn't take long to realize…"

"Who? Who's is it?"

She went quiet. Dib turned away, biting his lips, "No, no, no, please God, no. Not again."

"That's why I've been trying to help him, Dib. He has nowhere else…no one else…" She looked up at her frantic brother, "He needs help, Dib."

Her brother turned to her. He shook his head, about to lose it completely. She grabbed hold of him and gave him a slap over the face. He looked back at her and gave a small nod, "Thanks."

"Any time," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"W-what are we going to do? I just…" he looked at her, hoping she would give him the answers…but she couldn't. She simply frowned, giving her brother a look of pity, "I don't know."

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><p><strong>Cliff HANGER! DX What will Dib do next! What will happen to Zim? Why am I asking you these questions! Surely, I, the writer would know! Well, I do, and I will be updating real soon...so stay tuned...:o<strong>

**Oh, and thank you for all the awesome reviews! Keep 'em coming :) **

**See you soon**


	7. Faint

**Sigh, there's nothing better than openning my mail and seeing so many people are reviewing and making this their favourites and...sigh :3 So loved**

**Thanks so much guys, your reviews are awesomeness (some give me such a good laugh, i love it! XD)**

**Okay, so here I go, updating like you guys keep demanding me too :p I shall do two today (like yesterday) but from here on out, things are gonna get more complicated! :O A spider in the shadows is finally gonna spin her web, so be warned now!**

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><p>Zim opened his eyes to find a little bundle of warmth in his arms. Instinct demanded him to throw the thing off of him, but he didn't. He knew who it was.<p>

She had crawled into his bed and fell asleep next to him, holding onto her rubber piggy for dear life. He sighed, wrapping his arm tightly around Hope. She had a cute little smile on her face, happy to be with her dad again. It made him feel awful. He loved his daughter, and she obviously loved him. He agreed with Dib when he said he was a terrible father and should have just stayed away. He looked down at his not so flat stomach, realizing that he had another one on the way and he didn't know if he was going to be able to look after two children. He couldn't even look after one. He looked up. Children were such a bother.

Hope looked up at her dad and saw the worried look on his face, "Daddy?"

He looked down at her and sat up awkwardly, his stomach's size annoying him now. "What's wrong, Hope?"

"Why do you look so worried? Are you sick again?" she said, sitting up.

"No," he laughed, "Just…thinking."  
>"Watcha thinking about?" Man, he never realized how annoying kids were when they asked fifty questions. A human trait, no less.<p>

"About you," he smirked, giving her cheek a poke. She giggled, "I think about you too, daddy."

"Really?" Zim said in surprise, putting a hand on his stomach, not even realizing he was doing it. It just seemed to feel comfortable there.

"Ah-huh. I like thinking about my daddy," she hugged her piggy, "Mr Piggy asks lots of questions about you."

"Hmm, Mr Piggy should learn to mind his own business," Zim grumbled. Hope smiled at her silly dad, not realizing he was being serious.

She looked down at his big stomach. She put her hands on it gently, hoping she wasn't causing her dad any pain. He looked at her in shock, wondering what she was doing. "Daddy, why is your tummy so big? It wasn't like this yesterday."

He shrugged, blushing, "It's complicated, Hope."

"But, it's making noises," she said, her antennae moving.

"No its not," he said, not hearing or feeling a thing.

"Yes it is. It's talking. Can't you hear it?" she said, looking up at him.

He thought she was losing it. Had she perhaps inherited her other father's insanity? He then stopped and looked at her, "Do you hear it with your antennae? What is it saying?"

"It's saying…" she gave a look of concentration. She then looked up at her dad, confused, "Hungry?"

Zim had to admit, he was a bit peckish. Maybe Hope wanted food and she was using this as an excuse…no. She was being serious. He went into thought about this. Perhaps she was picking up on the baby's antennae movements and was picking up the sounds it was making, translating it into words. He didn't think that was possible…but neither did he think it was possible for an Irken to even have smeets.

Zim stood up, holding onto Hope. "Well, why don't we go have some breakfast then?"

Hope smiled, "Okay."

The next few days passed by quite slowly. Dib had left Zim alone, not even speaking to him when at dinner (this was the only time the two actually saw one another). Zim was surprised by the human's strange behaviour towards him, but decided to leave things be, not wanting to cause any trouble between the two.

When Hope was at school and Gaz was at work, Zim would go snooping around the house, or would nap in his room, often dreaming about Tunica and Skoodge, wondering if they were okay. Tak was hardly ever at home and when she was, he avoided her like the plague and vice versa.

Gaz would spend the evenings watching TV with Hope and Zim or reading to her niece. Zim was asked by Hope to sit with them one evening and he and Gaz made a whole (unplanned) show about the story they were reading. Hope absolutely loved it and giggled so much. Gaz began warming up to Zim a bit more from then. She helped him down the stairs if he needed it; she got him something to drink if she just came from the kitchen with coffee for herself. Zim had gotten used to her out-of-character attitude and was actually starting to enjoy the new Gaz.

Hope often came and spent the night with him when everyone had gone to bed. She would ask Zim all sorts of questions about Irk and he would explain to her as best he could. He even told Hope about Skoodge and Tunica and how they were strong warriors that fought against all sorts of alien races. She told her dad she would like to meet them someday. Zim hoped that was still possible.

Before they knew it, a week had gone by. Zim woke up Friday morning, dragged himself out of bed, leaving his daughter to sleep a little longer and went to have some cola for breakfast. He was getting better in terms of eating human foods. He learnt that doughnuts and some brands and flavours of chips were okay to eat (in limitations, of course) and was getting used to the cola. He was able to finish a can at a time now instead of half of a can which he proceeded to gag on for the rest of the day. He usually sat in the lounge with his cola, his eyes closed as he daydreamed, still not fully awake. More often than not Gaz or Hope would come down a few minutes later and distract him away from his thoughts. Today was different, though.

Zim never really kept track of time. When he was awake, he was awake. Today, he had gotten up an hour earlier than he usually did. Which lead to this happening…

Zim was lying on the couch, his can on the floor next to him (seeing as Dib and Gaz hadn't bought a new coffee table yet), his arm over his eyes. He was wearing his usual black pants and a dark pink shirt that had black splatters across it. It was the second biggest shirt that Gaz had bought him and was very loose. The collar managed to fit one of his shoulders and his neck. But, it felt roomy enough for his still growing belly and he didn't really mind. He had become accustomed to wearing these clothes when he went to bed and in the morning because he knew Dib usually went to work before he got up, and so Zim wouldn't be caught. But Dib had just got out of bed at this time and was heading downstairs in his business suit with his case, going to make his morning coffee.

He quietly made his way down the stairs, a habit he developed when Hope used to wake up and howl because he was leaving for the day, making his way for the kitchen. He put his case on the table near the main door with his coat and was about to head to the kitchen to get himself some toast and coffee, when he saw someone asleep in the lounge. He stopped and turned his head to see Zim on the couch, asleep. He gave a look of confusion. Something in his mind shook him up, reminding him of the pregnant belly that was staring back at him. He shuddered and headed to the kitchen, ignoring the sleeping alien.

The thing Dib didn't realize was Zim wasn't asleep. So when he heard Dib turning on the kettle and rustling through the cupboards, he jolted up in a panic, nearly screaming but instead grabbing a pillow and covering his face as he screamed. Zim knew that that fright of knowing Dib was awake and in the kitchen would cause him to scream and instead of alerting the human that he was there (or waking up the rest of the household) he decided a pillow would do the trick.

Unfortunately, all it did was freak out Dib further. He jumped, spilling jam all over the floor. He cursed in his head for getting such a fright and went to the lounge to see the alien hiding behind the sofa, trying to conceal his pregnant belly (remember, he doesn't know yet that Dib is aware of his pregnancy).

"Zim, what are you doing?" Dib whispered over to him, trying to keep his voice down for his still sleeping family upstairs.

"N-nothing, human," Zim replied in a quiet tone, sounding annoyed by the human's voice, "What are you doing?"

"Making breakfast and going to work. Why are you screaming? And what are you doing behind the couch?"

"…The view from down here is way better than up there, stupid human. Besides, why do you care?" Zim said, giving Dib a twitch of the lip, being his arrogant self.

Dib gave him a look and walked around the couch. Zim jumped and began crawling to the other side as Dib neared him. Dib stopped and sighed, "Zim…"

"If you're going to ask, I think walking this way is much more comfortable and …"

"Please stop it, Zim. I know."

Zim froze, looking terrified as he gave a small gulp, "Know what? T-that I, Zim, am amazing?"

"That you, Zim, are pregnant again," Dib said, folding his arms.

Zim's eyes went wide. He fell over, fainting. Dib gave a sigh, shaking his head.

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><p><strong>Hehehehehehe, poor Zim. I'm not gonna lie, though, that was a good comeback on Dib's part<strong>

**Part two will be coming soon! I have to go and do an English test on newspaper articles. Then! UPDATE! :D**

**Please don't forget those reviews! :) They help me update quicker,and with what's gonna happen next...you can't afford to miss out :o**


	8. Table Talk

**And here is the second one...:D**

**I am just awesome :p Okay, here goes...**

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><p>Zim awoke, realizing he was sitting in a chair. He looked around for a moment, trying to make sense of everything. He saw Dib sitting across from him, eating his slice of toast with his cup of coffee in his free hand. They were in the kitchen. "How'd I get here?" he mumbled, rubbing his spinning head and antennae.<p>

"I dragged your ass over here. I figured I might as well keep an eye on you while having breakfast," he muttered, biting down on the edge of his butter covered toast, annoyed that he couldn't have jam because most of it was on the floor now.

"Zim needs no one's help," he said sternly, getting up. This was stupid, because it gave him a head rush and he fell right back down into his seat with a grunt, holding his still spinning head. "Careful there, Zim."

Dib seemed quite…confused and indifferent of the current situation. Zim looked at him, "What's wrong with you, human?"

Dib looked up at Zim, and shook his head, "Here I am, sitting at my kitchen table, my childhood enemy who was planning to destroy the world sitting across from me, pregnant with my child! It's a little much for me to take in, Zim."

Zim looked at him, then at the cup he was holding, trying to break eye contact, "I guess that would unhinge the sanest of people."

"Yeah," Dib mumbled, taking a sip of coffee, looking the same. He glanced over at Zim, "Are you okay? You fainted back there for a moment. Was it the shock or is something wrong?"

Zim looked at him. Dib was trying to care. Zim didn't like it, "I'm fine, human worm-baby. Just…didn't think you'd know about…you know."

Dib nodded, "Found out a few nights ago. I was…surprised, to say the least."

"Oh."

Dib looked at Zim directly. "How? You told me when you were pregnant with Hope that that kiss we had back in school caused that to happen. That your computer told you that all that was needed was an exchange of DNA, no matter what the method. How could you possibly be pregnant with another child if we only had one kiss?"

Zim looked at him. He looked down, "I don't know."

"Zim, don't lie to me."

"Human, why would I…?"

"Zim."

Zim sighed heavily, before returning his gaze to Dib, "When I left Hope with you that night…I may have…given her a kiss goodbye."

"So?" Dib looked confused.

"So, in my bloody and dazed state…I might have ended up kissing you by accident."

Dib's eyes went wide in shock. "That's…God, I don't even know what that is," Dib mumbled, standing.

"That's what the Tallests said when they found out," Zim shrugged to himself.

Dib stopped as he put his dishes into the sink. He turned and looked at Zim, who turned his head when he felt Dib's gaze on him, "What?"

"Tak said your leaders wouldn't have helped you. Why did they?"

He hesitated, "An invader friend of mine, who found me in the woods the night I left, he helped make a deal with the Tallests to get me the medical attention I needed. In exchange for medical care, Skoodge fought in the "Battle Galactica Regime" as a warrior. I was also allowed to be…experimented on."

Dib looked at Zim, "What about the smeet?"

Zim looked out the door of the kitchen, breaking eye contact, "When they found out about the smeet, they decided that they had to hide me from the public so no one knew about the child. They also decided that the child could be used as a possible heir to their throne once they passed on."

"You agreed to that?" Dib said, disgusted at Zim.

Zim looked down, "I agreed to nothing. But I was forced into doing what they wanted. They gave me fifty different drugs and did countless testing and experiments to make sure that when this smeet comes out of me, it would be the perfect irken warrior and leader."

Dib fell silent for a moment. He looked at Zim, "How human is this child?"

"It will have some human qualities, but it will definitely be more Irken than human."

Dib always hated Zim and wanted to see him strewn across an autopsy table. But to hear how his own leaders tortured him and hurt him…Dib saw something familiar in the alien that he hadn't before when they were enemies. He saw…himself, in a way. Dib put a hand on Zim's shoulder, which made the alien jump. He looked up at the human, wondering if he was going to get into a fight with him or something. Dib gave a nod, a neutral pose on his face, "Get some rest, Zim," was all he could say and then made his way out of the kitchen, getting ready to go to work. Zim sat there for a few minutes, even after Dib had left, trying to understand what the hell just happened.

Gaz stood by her chair, folding clothes into a basket while Hope played with her blocks on the blanket to the corner of the room. Zim sat on his chair, legs crossed, his belly nestled between his legs. He looked thoughtful and off in his own world. Gaz was watching the rain as it fell against the window. "Hmm, wonder when the rain will let up. It comes and goes, doesn't it?" she said, almost to herself.

Zim looked up at her, his eyes looking tired. "Where's Tak?"

"She went to go and fetch her dress for the conference tonight,' she said, folding a pair of jeans that Dib was wearing two days before.

"I take it the whole family will be there tonight, then."

"Well, yes. Hope has her dress all ironed and ready. I have a nice black and purple number that Dib spent a fortune on for me. And you…hmmm, I think your suit is in your cupboard."

Zim jolted up, his feet hitting the floor as he sat up straight. "What? I don't want to go tonight!"

"Well, you are part of the family, aren't you?" she grinned.

"Yeah, daddy," Hope smiled from her corner of playthings.

"That still doesn't mean I have to go to some human convention fest thing! Humans hate me and I hate humans. Besides, I'm tired and would rather spend the night sleeping in bed than at some stupid conference."

"We're not going to the conference. That's Dib's baby. We're going to the dinner after the conference. We're only going as props for Dib's career. The press want to show he is also a _family man_."

"I want nothing to do with your human propaganda," Zim groaned.

Hope walked over to her dad, "But daddy, it'll be fun having you there!"

Hope just wanted her dad with her. She loved her other father, Dib. But she knew he would be busy for most of the night and she didn't want to be stuck with _mommy_. Zim rolled his eyes, "Hope, daddy isn't feeling up to it. Daddy just wants to sleep tonight."

"But daddy…" she whined, sounding more like Zim than Gaz thought was possible. She gave a smirk.

"Come on, Zim. We'll just be sitting at a dinner table for the evening and then I can take you and Hope home early. How does that sound?"

He looked up, lying back, "Whatever."

Hope smiled. She knew her smart Aunty would get Zim there, no matter what.

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><p><strong>Well, that's it for today :) Hope you enjoyed. Not too much of a cliffhanger, but guys...the things that will be happening next! <strong>

**By the by, if anyone feels artistic in ANY way and feels like doing art on this AMAZGINGLY strange story as it goes on, by all means :) Just send me the link! :p**

**Keep on reviewing and I'll see youz tomorrow :D**


	9. Let's Dance

**I know, not much of a cliffhanger on the last one, BUT it was so this next twist in the tale doesn't knock you guys off your feet! :O This was so difficult to write because I personally felt it was too mean, but it had to be done! For the sake of good story writingness!**

**Okay, instead of going on about how bad this is (like I have been) I'll just let you read it now...**

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><p>Gaz looped the magenta cloth through the hole, helping Zim do his tie. He wore his black sleeveless shirt that covered his baby bump. With this, he was forced to wear a crisp white shirt, a pair of black formal pants and a matching vest with the short boots Gaz had gotten him to help with his feet. Gaz finished his tie and took a step back so he could see himself in the full length mirror in the cupboard. He gave a look, "God, you humans have weird taste when it comes to fashion."<p>

"My, don't you look handsome tonight," Gaz smirked, fixing her necklace while in front of the mirror with him.

Zim scoffed and went to sit on the bed with his daughter who was playing with her short hair that Gaz had tried to curl for the event. They were in Gaz's room tonight, getting ready to head out. Dib and Tak were currently at the conference, doing their presentations to the board of directors for a new case they had been working on.

Zim sighed as his elbows rested on his knees, "How long do we have to be there for?"

"As long as we need to be. So, basically a couple of hours," she said putting in her earrings.

Hope scooted over to her dad, shoving his arm out of the way to get closer to his torso, giving him a hug. Zim looked down and cuddled her closer, still listening to Gaz. He was getting used to Hope's constant hugging, and at times even found it comforting. "Will we see Dib at all tonight? Or Tak? Because if I have to sit at the table with them, I will be getting up and spending the night in the car," He grumbled.

Gaz looked at him, grinning, "I'll be sure to join you, then. Look, we're all sitting at the head table tonight, but it's a long table, so…Dib will be at the front, Tak sitting next to him. Then me and Hope and you on one side. The other side will be all his head researchers and investigators."

Zim stuck his tongue out, "Is it too late to kill myself?"

Gaz gave him a glare.

Zim held onto Hope as Gaz and he walked into the hall. Hope was holding onto him tightly, seeing as her toy had to be left in the car tonight. The hall was packed with scientists, investigators dressed in black overcoats and crowds of people in general. It annoyed Zim. People walked up to them, greeting them. Gaz tried her best to give most of them a smile, but it was very difficult. They waved at Hope and called her very cute and all gave Zim a bewildered look every now and then. He simply sneered at them to leave him alone, not letting go of his daughter.

Gaz and he eventually sat down, Hope sitting on his lap for the time being, lying against his flat stomach, bored. Zim looked very unimpressed and wanted to go home already. It hadn't even been 20 minutes yet.

Dib eventually came to sit down as other people began taking their seats at their separate round tables. It almost reminded Gaz of a wedding venue. Tak glared at Zim as Dib greeting them both, "How are you guys enjoying the event so far?" He smiled. The meeting obviously went well.

Gaz and Zim simply shrugged indifferently, not really caring. Dib reached down and picked up Hope so she could sit with him and Tak. She looked sad, "Why can't I sit with Zim?" she said.

Dib hadn't really yet realized that Hope knew Zim was her father, so Zim told her one evening to make sure he didn't find out.  
>Dib gave her an odd look, and then looked back at Zim with a suspicious look, "Why don't you want to sit with us?"<p>

Hope looked at her dad, "I know you'll have to get up a lot, daddy. I don't want you to pick me up and down all the time."

He gave a sigh of relief. He smiled at her, "Then you can sit with Tak. She won't be standing much."

Zim could see the horror in Hope's eyes as she was handed to her _mommy_. From what Hope had told Zim, she called Tak _mommy_ to make her father happy. Zim was frustrated with Dib and angered with the fear Tak was instilling in Hope. But he couldn't do anything about it just yet. He didn't have a leg to stand on at the moment. But soon enough, he would say something to both of them.

The evening progressed slowly. Dinner was served to everyone and quiet chattering pursued. Zim didn't bother trying any of the food; just taking small sips of the coke he was offered. His gaze, more often than not, was on Hope and how unhappy she was. He wanted to snatch his child out of that viper's hands. Gaz looked up at Zim as she took a sip of wine, her empty plate and Zim's still full plate being taken away, "You okay, Zim? You look pale again."

He looked over at Gaz and sighed, "Fine. Just wanting this evening to end."

She scoffed, "You and me both."

The orchestra started to play heavenly music and couples stood up to dance. Dib and Tak stood, Tak still holding onto Hope as they walked over to the hall, dancing together slowly, Hope trying to enjoy it.

Zim looked bored. Gaz gave a sigh and stood, whipping out her hand towards Zim. He jumped up, thinking she was about to hit him…but she wasn't. She was just…offering him her hand. "Wanna dance?" she sighed.

Zim looked at her hand, giving her a look, "Dance? Me?"

"Well, I figured the almighty Zim could at least dance," she said, shaking her head as she looked up. He glared at her, sticking his tongue out at her. He stood, taking her hand. And they made their way to the dance floor.

They stood together, arms on one another's shoulders as they shuffled back and forth in a circle. Gaz and Zim looked incredibly bored.

After five minutes of this, they gave up and went back to sit down. Hope, however saw her daddy was up and broke away from Tak and Dib and went running up to him. He gave her a warm smile as she grabbed a hold of his hands, "Zim, dance with me!" she said happily.

Zim sighed and walked off with her.

Hope was still quite short and Zim danced with her quite awkwardly. He was hunched over and she was standing on his shoes but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Eventually annoyed of hunching over with his pregnant tummy (still feeling the pains even with his stomach covered) he picked Hope up and held onto her as they danced around in a circle. She held him tightly, smiling away and they danced together, hoping they would never stop.

Dib and Tak danced together with one another, Dib annoyed at how much Hope was enjoying herself with Zim.

When the music stopped and everyone clapped, they made their way back to their seats, Hope giving Zim a huge smile.

As the evening went on, speeches and toasts by various members started. Zim and Gaz tried looking as awake as possible, but it was getting to become very boring and annoying after the fifth five minute speech.

Dib eventually stood, Zim's attention returning as he and Gaz looked up to him. He held up his glass filled with champagne and began a toast.

Even though Zim's attention was perked, he wasn't really paying attention to each individual word. Dib was blabbing on about how proud he was of his team, for how much research they managed to get done this year. He congratulated various members for their promotions and to some who had gotten married or who have had a child.

He then began blushing, his glass lowering slightly as he continued with an announcement of his own, "My team often thank me for my work and dedication. I just would like to say that without the dedication of my family, my input wouldn't be of the high standards that I have tried to achieve. You see, the saying goes "behind every successful man, there is a successful woman." So, it only makes sense that my success is because I have a loving and caring woman behind me all the way," He looked down at Tak who was smiling. "She has been my guide, my second-in-command, a mother for my child. She has been there through it all…and so…"

He pulled her up. She put Hope on the table as her smile grew. He pulled out a small black box. Zim jolted back in his chair. Gaz reached over and held his hand as a stunned look hit his face. Dib opened the box, the audience before them gasping and whispering in excitement. He put the stunning diamond ring on her finger and blushed at her, "Tak, I want you to there for as long as possible. I want to make you mine. Would you do me the honour…of marrying me?"

Tak smiled at him, and nodded, hugging him as the audience cheered.

Gaz covered her face, sighing as she mumbled, "Oh, God no."

Zim wanted to scream, he wanted to activate his spider-legs and get into a huge fight with Tak now. He wanted to throw Dib clear across the table for being an idiot for daring to trust someone like Tak.

He simply stood, and walked away from the table. Gaz looked up at him, "Zim?"

"I just…I need a moment," he grunted as he headed off to one of the spare rooms. Gaz gave a sigh as she watched people go up to congratulate the new couple.

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><p><strong>Sigh, what an idiot :L BUT WAIT! IT GETS BETTER!...or rather worse :o Stay tuned as more developes **

**3(**

**Thanks for the awesomeness reviews guys! Keep thems coming.**

**See you tomorrow :)**


	10. Never Wanted to Dance

**Oooooh my God, here it is! Something you all didn't see coming :O But, it's important for the next bit of the story.**

**If you guys are curious where the title came from, you can go to Youtube and type in "Never wanted to Dance by Mindless Self Indulgence". MAKE SURE ITS THE REMIXED ONE! Its actually the first one to come up, because its actually better than the original. If you do listen to the original, it doesn't matter, it still kinda fits in with what's going on in this chapter (I do apologize now for the hidious swearing...but I did rate this M for a reason)**

**Hope you enjoy :o**

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><p>Zim leant against the railing, his arms resting on it carefully. He was looking out a beautiful, still lake before him. The hairs of his wig rustled in the wind as a light breeze brushed past him.<p>

He stood on this patio outside, which lead out from the main hall, his thoughts gathering up inside him. He knew Tak was up to something. She had to be. She had tried years ago to kill Zim and Dib. Why now is Dib marrying her? Has that much changed since he had been gone? No, she had to be up to something.

He watched as a few fireflies danced along the lake, remembering his daughter's golden eyes. How scared they were. How she wished Tak would just let go of her. Zim turned away from the lake, leaning against it from the back now, his arms folded. That's why Gaz needed him here. It was now making sense. Gaz in the past would have never been this kind to him. To offer him food, clothing and a place to stay. She needed him…to help Hope at least. He looked down. "How everyone is just using everyone," he laughed to himself, "It would be hilarious if I wasn't involved in this."

His hands fell as he looked up, a slim figure nearing him from the door. His body stiffened as he looked up at Tak, glaring at her. She came and stood in front of him, her dark scarlet dress dragging along the floor. Her dark blue hair shone in the moonlight. It was done up for such a special occasion. "That was quite rude of you to just leave like that, Zim," she said in her normal tone.

Zim glared at her, "Wasn't that big of an event to me. I just felt like some air."

She looked at him, her facial expression changing to one of slyness, "You know, Zim. I don't know what you're thinking, but you have no reason to be so suspicious of us."

His glare deepened, "Oh really?"

She walked around him, the cunningness of her eyes growing, "Dib and I have been seeing one another for a while now, Zim. He really needed someone there for him after you abandoned him and you smeet…"

"I didn't abandon them!" he sneered at her, following her in a circle.

"That's not what Dib thought," she grinned.

"Fuck you, Tak. You're just using him to get to me, admit it."

She stopped and smirked at him as they stared one another down. She finally gave a small laugh, "You're smarter than you act, Zim."

"Leave my daughter alone, you…" he tried, getting threatening now.

"Me what, Zim?" she shot a glare at him, "She's just another pawn in my plan, just like that pathetic human. I'm going to be an invader and in the Tallests good books by the time I'm finished with you. You're a wanted convict now, Zimmy. And you are my ticket back into the Armada."

"I'm never going to help you, Tak!" he howled at her.

"I'm not giving you much of a choice, you hack!" she tackled him down, slamming both of them into the railing. Zim cried, his back nearly snapping in two. The force knocked both of them off the edge and onto the grassy slope below. They struggled with one another, mud covering their once spotless outfits.

"I will be an invader, Zim, and you will pay for everything you did to me!" she muttered in his antennae, holding him down as she sat on him. Zim pushed her off, holding his stomach in defence, hoping the child was okay.

Tak pulled off most of the top of her dress, her bra beneath showing. Zim gave her a look, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Making sure this plan works," she grinned. She stood and came at him again. Zim jumped up, moving out of the way as a punch came at him. She came back and kicked him, hitting his left knee. He screamed and fell, still holding his stomach. Tak was about to punch him again, but he rolled out of the way into a couple of grass shoots. He shot up and made for her, swinging his fist at her cheek. She didn't even move and fell backwards as the punch knocked her off her feet. She grunted, spitting out green blood from her mouth, grinning still. Zim looked at her, not understand what she is doing.

She launched herself at Zim, forcing him off his feet once more. He slammed into the ground, the breath leaving him in a gasp. She pulled his antennae from beneath his wig and slammed his head down. Tears quivered in his eyes, pain consuming his whole body. He could feel the baby moving, causing him more discomfort, "Tak…get off…me," he grunted, blood rising in his throat.

"Now why would I do that?" she glared at him, she reached down, tugging at the belt around his pant. His eyes went wide and he threw her off of him and slammed his leg into her ribs as he rose. She howled, grabbing them in agony. He stumbled over himself, trying to keep his balance as his antennae rang.

She got up, a bit shaky as she tore away at the bottom of her dress now. She then looked up, grinning at Zim, "And now, it ends," she spat, a huge cut over her face

Zim's eyes went wide as she yelled out Dib's name, almost screeching it. "No…" he mumbled, her plan finally revealed.

She wanted Zim to fight her. She wanted him to beat the crap out of her, because she knew Dib would immediately take her side in this, regardless of how injured Zim was. He collapsed, holding onto his aching stomach as he looked up at her with tears in his eyes, "Y-you…how-how could you…?" he tried. She grinned, false tears coming to her eyes. He got up awkwardly as Dib came running from the patio, up to the railing, Gaz a few steps behind him. He saw Tak and almost yelled in shock. He jumped over the railing and came over to her, pulling her closer to him as she snivelled. Gaz stood on the patio, shock all over her face. "Tak, wh-what happened?"

She chocked on her words, Zim grimacing, "H-he…attacked me! That monster!" she cried out, holding onto Dib tightly. Dib looked over at Zim in horror, hatred and anger entering his eyes.

"I-I came to see if h-he was okay…and he just attacked me!" she continued, hiccupping on her words. "He tried to…to…"

She buried her head in Dib's chest, crying into it. Zim's body shook. That's why she went for his belt, which was now loose and hanging from the hoops in his once black pants. Dib cradled Tak in his arms, whispering hushes to her. He looked at Zim with a death stare, "Go. Now!" he screamed at the alien. Zim wanted to say something. He wanted to defend himself. But his vocal cords were being strangled by his confusion and horror. He looked down and trudged through the mud, walking away as Dib tried to calm down Tak.

Zim sat, his vest on the concrete next to him, outside the hall…waiting. He knew when Dib had finally calmed down Tak, he would most likely find him and kill him. He sat, his back against the cold concrete of the outside wall, his one leg hanging off one of the steps. He was holding onto his stomach, wishing the pains would go away. His head was ringing and racing, his antennae still aching after Tak yanked them. He felt miserable and just wanted to go home and die. A figure neared him slowly, a smaller one following closely. Zim looked up, his eyes still teary as he stared at Gaz and Hope. Hope was holding onto Gaz's dress, looking really upset. She looked angry with Zim. "What did you do?" Gaz said in a hushed, dark tone.

Zim looked forward, his grip around his stomach tightening as another pain shot through him. "I didn't do anything," he forced out in a weak voice.

Gaz grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, Hope yelling out in fear as she pulled him up violently, "You are the biggest idiot I have ever met, and I'm related to Dib! You…you literally screwed yourself over by doing this, you fucking moron!" She screamed at him, making his antennae ring more. The constant ringing was making him feel really sick.

He pulled himself away from her grip and walked down the stairway, not needing this confrontation. Gaz gave him a glare and shouted out at him, "Hey!"

He turned, looking at her, "I'm not through with you, you fucking retard! How dare you! Is that all you ever think about? You!" she walked a few steps down to meet him, Hope still standing there and crying. Zim began to look annoyed. "You just handed Tak the winning card all because you lost your fucking temper…!"

"I didn't do an Irk damn thing to her!" he screeched back at her, having enough of being yelled at for one week, "She attacked me, Gaz! She fucking framed me to get your brother on her fucking side!"

Gaz looked at him, Hope covering her face as she watched her two loved ones fighting. "Yes, I fought back! Yes, it was wrong! But damn it, Gaz, I didn't know this was her plan till it was too late! So stop fucking yelling at me and god dammit, go help Hope!" he screamed, seeing his daughter in utter distress.

Gaz turned, her eyes softening as she saw her niece in hysterics.

She walked up, picking up the crying child, and hugged her, Hope bawling as she clung to her aunt. Gaz looked back at Zim who was leaning against the wall, looking as he was trying to force down a yell of pain. She walked up to him, looking at him in concern, "Where did she hurt you?"

"I'm fine…" he tried.

"No, you're not. Don't piss me off further, Zim. Where does it hurt?" Gaz warned. Zim shook his head and stood, trying to walk down the last step away from Gaz. But, something lurched in his stomach, the ringing getting the best of him. He grabbed a hold of the edge of the wall on the other side of the step, trying to keep upright as he spewed clear liquid into the grass. Hope screamed. Gaz put her down as she went to help Zim.

She held placed one hand on his stomach where one of his hands were, using the other hand to hold onto his arm as he vomited out more clear liquid. She grimaced, feeling his stomach contract violently. Zim opened his wet eyes when the liquid stopped, coughing slightly. He fell backwards into Gaz's grasp. Gaz held him in a sitting position, resting his head under her chin. Hope came running up to them, holding onto her dad. "Zim?" Gaz said panicked. He was breathing deeply, almost gasping and choking to get the air back in him after losing half his stomach. The pains were still there, but thankfully not as strong. "Can we…please go home?" he stuttered, blinking weakly.

Gaz looked at him, fighting back her own tears. She pulled him up awkwardly, putting his arm over her shoulder and walked him over to the car, Hope helping her aunt as best she could.

Zim lay on Gaz's bed, her blanket wrapped tightly around him. Hope was fighting to stay awake as she lay on the cushioned chair opposite the bed. A pillow rested comfortable underneath her head, a pink fleecy blanket already over her. Gaz sat on the edge of her bed, wiping away sweat from Zim's face. The pains had died down, but there was still the occasional twinge here and there. He looked over at Gaz weakly, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked.

"For not seeing her plan sooner…"

"Don't you dare apologize for that, Zim. Tak is quite cunning. If anything, I should have seen this coming," she looked down.

"Then it's your fault," Zim gave a weak smile.

Gaz looked at him and grinned weakly, "I'm sorry for what happened. How's the baby?"

"Has stopped fidgeting so much, but seems to still be in a bit of distress," he sighed.

Gaz looked at Hope who was slowly drifting into sleep, "So no contractions or anything?"

"No," he mumbled, "But it came pretty close to it."

Gaz gave a slight nod, "We have to be careful from now on then."

She paused as Zim closed his eyes. "Get some rest, Zim."

"In your bed?" his eyes opened weakly, giving her a look.

"Just for tonight. I need to keep an eye on you," she said. "No arguments."

He shook his head, "Too tired to argue right now. I'll do it in the morning."

He closed his eyes once more, and began nodding off.

Gaz stayed seated by his side for the whole evening, worried anytime he twitched or moaned. Eventually, she fell asleep by his legs, resting on his knees.

Dib only returned at three that morning, just to get a few things. Tak was with him. She was asleep. After being on Earth for so long, she had become used to some of the customs (well, that's what she told Dib, anyway. Right now, she was just faking it). Dib carried her over to the couch and placed a blanket over her.

He then headed to the phone in the kitchen, dialling a number into it. Tak opened her eyes, listening carefully to Dib in the kitchen, grinning evilly.

"Yes. Hello? Yes, this is he. Listen. That thing I was talking to you about this evening after the conference…yeah, it's still on. Yeah. Come by at 6am. No, he'll still be asleep. Perfect. Make sure all the researchers are ready and waiting, and don't forget the tranquilizer. I think he's gonna put up a fight. Good, thank you. See you then."

Tak gave a smirk. "All according to plan," she whispered.

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><p><strong>To quote the song, "Bitch!" My God, we nearly forgot about her, didn't we? Come on, this is Tak we're talking about. And it only gets worse from here! Damn that Witch!<strong>

**With that out of the way, hope you enjoyded the chapter (that's not a mistype, I just talk funny XD)**

**PLEASE don't forget those reviews! I want to see if this chapter got you as upset with that cow as it did me**

**Check you later, where the plot thickens...:o :P**


	11. Torture!

**Wow...just wow :o. I am soooo surprised for the last couple of reviews. I never expected you guys to get that upset over Tak and Dib (THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING SO, though) cause they did kinda deserve that responce...especially Tak. The amount you that now want her dead XD I love it.**

**Okay, this chapter (I know) doesn't have a nice ending either. I apologize in advance. IT WILL GET BETTER, promise! You will see peoplez get what they deserve. Just give it a moment.**

**Thanks so much for the awesome reviews guys. Keep them comingZ :) I have started work on the next big story in this universe of character. I will keep you posted on it as I go along and check with you guys if I'm stuck on something (must say, the next one is gonna be ten times worse than this one. You thought Tak was bad here X_X)**

**Hope you enjoy and yeah...I can't wait till we get some payback after this chapter :(**

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><p>Zim groaned. Gaz's eyes flickered open as she looked over at him, "What's wrong?" she asked in a groggy voice.<p>

"Bucket," he mumbled. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She reached over, picked it up and handed it to him. He held it in front of him and waited, Gaz pushing her hair out of her face as she looked over at him. He shook his head, putting the bucket back on the floor, "False alarm."

She gave a weak smile, "This is good."

"Don't jinx it," he grinned at her. He looked over at his sleeping daughter, his grin turning it a smile, "Glad to see she slept."

Gaz smiled at her tiredly, "Yeah. She was pretty worried about you."

He reached over, brushing some of her hair out of her face. Gaz laughed at him. He turned to her, "What?"

"You are such a parent," she smiled.

Zim gave her a surprised look, before he looked down, "I'm no parent. I left my child behind."

Gaz scooted closer to him, "Yes, but you came back for her."

He looked at her, feeling strange having Gaz so close to him. They smiled at one another.

The door shattered open, wood flying through the air. Three screams filled the air: Zim, Gaz and Hope's. Zim lunged for his daughter, grabbing a hold of her as Gaz stood in front of him and her. Two men dressed in a black army uniform stormed in with guns. Dib walked in with them, holding his own weapon. Zim and Gaz look horrified, Hope clinging to him as she howled in utter fear, "D-Dib?" Zim stuttered.

Dib paused, his men waiting for his order. He sighed under his breath, "Take him!" he yelled.

The men made for Zim, yanking Hope from his arms, Gaz screaming and fighting with them. Zim protested violently, clawing the men that came neared him, even biting one of them. Four more officers entered the room. One of them held a frantic Gaz back as she screamed at them, tears sweeping over her face. One of the men hit Zim on the back of the head with his gun. Zim's eyes went blank as two men grabbed him and dragged him away while he was dazed. Hope screamed, "Daddy! DADDY!"

Dib looked down as they dragged him out, the other men following closely behind. Gaz fought, trying to get free. Tak entered, looking quite smug, "It had to be done."

"Fuck you!" she yelled, Hope still screaming. Dib didn't look at his sister or his daughter. "Tak, look after Hope. Sergeant, bring Gaz along. We can't leave her here like this. We'll keep her with us until she calms down."  
>She yelled, kicking and struggling more. Dib went up to her and gave her an injection. She struggled, but then relaxed, her body going numb. She then fell limp. The Sergeant nodded and took her away. The other officer handed Hope to Tak as she screamed. "Go, Dib. I'll take it from here," Tak said in a caring voice. Dib nodded and followed his officers to the armoured truck parked outside.<p>

Lights blinded the poor alien. He squinted, trying to make sense of what was going on. Three doctors stood over him, mumbling with one another about what to do with him first. Dissect him? Nah, too soon. Maybe some skin samples from all over his body? They needed the evidence before hand. And what about the alien baby he was carrying? That could prove useful to study. All they had to do was wait till due date and then they could start recording data for it from the very beginning of life. Zim struggled, but was restrained, tied down to a surgical bed in a stray jacket. The doctors looked down at him, "Oh dear, someone's awake," one of them said.

They mumbled with one another, trying to figure out what to do with him next, now that he was conscious. Zim frantically tried to get free, noticing the tight strappings around his mouth. He was gagged, bond and was about to be experimented on by these human scientists. He screamed in his mind as loudly as he could. This was his worst nightmare.

Dib stood by the window, watching as his scientists crowded around the alien, trying to figure out what to do with him. Gaz was sitting in a wooden chair next to her brother, a gag around her mouth and her hands handcuffed behind the seat. She was struggling still, trying to get free. "He crossed the line, sis. Trying to…rape, Tak. I knew he hadn't changed. I just wish I had seen it sooner," he said, his index finger moving across his chin as he concentrated on his scientists.

Gaz jumped in her seat, trying desperately to get free from the tight grip of the cuffs. Dib looked at her and sighed, "If you don't stop, you're never gonna get out of that chair."

She shot a look at Dib, beyond pissed off with him. He looked back at the scientists as they began wheeling the bed out of the operating theatre. They were going to put Zim into his cell. Dib took a deep breath and let it out, "A guard will let you go in an hour. I'll be gone by then, on the other side of town bringing a few more researchers from our branch there. You are more than welcome to stay here if you want to, but it would be best if you went home. I've instructed my men to throw you into one of our cells if you give them too much trouble." With that, he walked off, leaving his sister to jolt and wrestle with her cuffs, trying desperately to escape.

Sure enough, Gaz tore the place apart in search of Zim, trying to find a way to get him out of this horrid place. Within five minutes, she was placed into a holding cell. She was told that she would only be able to leave in two weeks' time. She couldn't believe what her brother was doing.

The first few days passed by. She hit the walls. She screamed her lungs out. She ranted and swore. By day five, she was sitting quietly on her uncomfortable bed, believing that that plan was getting her nowhere. A few more days passed. Her thoughts wondered onto how Zim was. If the baby was okay. If he had gone into labour at any time, she would have definitely known about it. The scientists would have set off alarms and been yelling over the intercom. They came on once in a while, making announcements to call Dib or any other personal.

By the end of one and a half weeks, she thought about her niece. She hated the fact that Dib had trusted her with Tak. Zim said that getting him into trouble was a part of her plan. This also meant that Zim being trapped here was also a part of her plan. Something was not making sense, though. Why would she want to be left alone with Hope? Was that also a part of her plan? Having everyone out of the house so she could be alone with Hope? Her sanity was slowly disappearing. She needed to get out now. She needed to go and see her niece. She knew Dib wouldn't have gone since Zim had been in lock-up, because Dib was that kind of guy. He would focus and fixate on one thing, ignoring everything else around him, even his own daughter if it was something serious like this.

No, Gaz needed to escape now! She needed to help her niece. No one else could.

The guard came by on day 14. Gaz was sitting on the corner of her bed, her knees up tightly against her chest. She raised an eyebrow at him as he unlocked the door, "You're free to go, Miss."

She didn't even acknowledge him. She simply stood, and walked past him making her way down the hall to fetch her things.

She grabbed her brother's car keys, her wallet and her brother's jacket that was hung on the coatrack. It was no use going in search of him. It was pointless. He had made up his mind. She would deal with him later. She needed to go and see Hope. She needed to see that her niece was okay. She was the only person she cared about. She would then deal with her idiot father.

The car screeched to a stop outside the house. She jumped out, fumbling with the keys to the house. She unlocked the door and stormed in, slamming the door open and leaving it, "Hope! Hope! Where are you?" she yelled into the echoing household, searching every room frantically. She raced upstairs, chanting her name in the hope that she would answer. Silence.

The air was stale. Like no one had been here for a while. Panic rose in Gaz. She dashed from room to room, slamming doors open, still yelling out for her niece. No. No one was here. No. This couldn't be right. No one had been here for a while. No! This couldn't be happening. "NO!" Gaz yelled, collapsing on her knees in the hallway outside Hope's bedroom, seeing her rubber piggy on her bed, a note and video tape attached to it.

Gaz slotted the tape into the video machine. She was lucky she still had one of these things. She sat on the chair, looking stressed beyond words, biting her index nail as she waited for it to play. The screen blurred and went static for a moment before…Tak appeared, grinning happily. Gaz growled, her face going red and hot. "Hello Gaz," Tak smiled as the camcorder wiggled slightly, trying to refocus on Tak. "Glad to see you found the tape first. Knew you would."

The camera followed Tak as she began walking to her right, "I knew you'd figure this out sooner than that idiot brother of yours, and especially sooner than that defect, Zim."

She stopped, two tall figures standing behind her, "I've spent the last four years getting this plan sorted and finalized, even going to the extent of agreeing to marry that pathetic brother of yours. Ha! It was way too easy, but worth it."

The camera moved away, the figures behind her being revealed. Gaz gave out a gasp, the Tallest laughing their asses off behind Tak evilly. "So here's the deal," Tak continued, closing her eyes with a wide grin on her face, "You give us Zim and the smeet unharmed…"

"And you might see your half-breed again," Red and Purple continued, holding up a cage with Hope in it, chained and bond. She was crying. Gaz screamed as she covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

"You have two days, upon discovering this tape, to decide. After that, well…" Tak grinned, opening her dark purple eyes.

Red took pressed a button on the side of the cage, sending a jolt of electricity through it. Hope screamed in agony. Gaz screamed, crying her heart out as she collapsed onto the floor, holding her arms. "D-Damn you, Tak!" she cried loudly.

"Hope you make the right choice," Tak laughed.

Then black consumed the screen as the tape stopped.

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><p><strong>Poor Zim, that's just awful. Wait till he finds out about Hope! WHY? Not HOPE! God, see this will teach Dib a lesson (we hope), but God, why did it have to be the child!<br>Sorry, guys, don't beat me or kill me or anything. It will get better from here, I swear.**

**Don't forget those reviews and I shall be seeing you soon, eh :)**


	12. Operation

**Okaay, so I have finally finished this baby off (YAY!) and is updating as fast as I can to get all the chaps up for you guys...I hve also done a few one-shots tha'll be coming after this one to lighten the mood before I bulldoze over the happiness once more T_T God, I'm horrible, really I am.**

**Thank you so much for all the support guys. I really do appreciate it. You guys have actually compelled me to write another one, and that is very difficult to do, so thank you guys. YOU ALL ROCK! :3**

**Um, I must make a note of this now. I must admit, Dib and Tak don't get the crap beaten out of them as much as I'm sure you guys are wanting them to. AND I MUST TELL YOU KNOW! BEFORE I GET BURNT ALIVE!**

**It is coming. This is only th first part of their adventures together. The next story (which I've decided I'm gonna call "Sun Flowers"...long story, I'll explain later), they'll probably get more of a beating (as will, unfortunately, some of the good characters too) so be patient. It will come...eventually.**

**Anyway, i'll babble on more at the end of this. Enjoy the next chapter :)**

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><p>Zim hung upside down as the surgeons cut through his back, trying to figure out the mechanics behind how his PAK worked. He hung on a silver frame, his wrists and ankles tied to each corner, his legs and torso being held up by a few bars that dug into his skin and made his bones ache. This, to the surgeons, was the only way to actually operate on his back while he was pregnant (they also liked the idea that it was hurting him). His eyes were half open, his pale pink eyes looking hopeless.<p>

It has been two weeks now. They had experimented on him, taken skin and blood samples, and they were constantly doing tests on him. The first thing they managed to figure out was how to deactivate his spider legs in his PAK (which nearly killed him for a moment or two). Once his defences were gone, testing and tying him down became a lot easier.

He was seven months pregnant now and was feeling the strain of the experiments. It was like he was back on the Massive all over again – minus Skoodge and Tunica. He just wanted it to end now. Tak had won. Dib had won. It was over.

His body ached. His arms and legs were becoming stiff, the muscles seizing from being hung like that for a good two hours now. The weight of his stomach was causing a lot of pain to his already sliced open back. Because the scientists didn't know what drugs would work on him, they left him awake each time they did operations on him and never gave him any form of painkillers. This led to nights of screaming in agony and days of fainting from throbbing aches all over his weak body.

Three surgeons cut carefully along Zim's back near his PAK. Dib stood to the side, a surgical mask over his face with his normal attire on, watching them carefully. He was surprised Zim was being so quiet today. Screens surrounded everyone, showing what was happening inside of Zim's body and around them, including Zim's face (considering he was upside down). A blanket hung over his legs, covering the short black pants he was given to wear. Other than that, he was left without clothes.

Dib missed seeing his daughter and Tak. He hadn't left the labs in two weeks now, due to the constant testing on Zim and how unpredictable the alien could be during these sessions with him. If he was going to be quiet like this for a while, though, maybe Dib could take a day off and go see his family again, maybe apologize to his sister or something. How he longed to give his little girl a hug and his new wife a big kiss. But he was needed here.

He was surprised Zim hadn't gone into early labour yet. He was glad, though. From what the latest ultrasound showed, the baby was still quite underdeveloped and needed a few more months before coming out of the alien. Zim warned Dib not to cut the smeet out once before when a surgeon came too close to his stomach with a knife. He nearly tore the surgeon's face off, telling them that it would kill both him and the baby. He didn't fully explain why this was so, but Dib didn't want to risk it.

The nurse passed the surgeon a swab as green blood dripped off Zim's back. He hung almost lifelessly, his antennae drooped and his face flushed. He wasn't going to last much longer at this rate. All he could think about was his daughter and his friends. He saw Skoodge smiling at him every once in a while. He saw Tunica doing a simple magic trick for him when he was feeling down. And then, he would see his daughter's warm inviting smile, her voice echoing his name though his antennae. A tear fell from his face, Dib giving Zim a look of curiosity.

Gaz in her brother's car came to a violent halt outside Dib's building. She got out of the car, slamming her door (nearly causing it to come clean off) as she marched over to the guard house, off on her own mission. The guard got out, looking rather annoyed at her, "I'm sorry, Miss, but this is a restricted area…"

She grabbed him by the collar, shoving a gun into his face, hatred and anger consuming her whole face. The guard's body froze in fear as she spoke in the scariest tone he had ever heard a person use, "Fuck off," she said harshly to him, shoving him out of the way. She marched on, the guard falling backwards onto his ass, grabbing his hat as it nearly fell off his head.

She stormed through the narrow hallway, shoving scientists into the wall when they got in her way. She held tightly onto the tape in her hands that shook like earthquakes. Men tried stopping her, others simply watched as she marched, knowing exactly where Dib would be.

Zim flinched as a scalpel travelled too close to his PAK for his liking. The surgeon saw his facial expression on the monitor and looked at the others, "Careful, now. Let's at least try to keep him alive." The surgeons gave a small chuckle, moving the scalpels away and trying another place to cut instead. God, it reminded Zim so much of being on the Massive. He was better off there.

Dib watched as the blades danced along his back, something at the back of his mind telling him that this was wrong. He saw glimpses of his little girl smiling with Zim and having fun with him. He closed his eyes, reassuring himself that he was right in doing this, seeing his soon to be wife that night Zim nearly…raped her.

The doors that led into the operating theatre slammed open, Gaz stomping her way in. Zim's eyes opened wide as he tried looking up, not seeing anything but Gaz's boots. The surgeons gave a yell of surprise as Dib turned, wide eyed, staring at his sister in shock. This soon disappeared as he got angry, "Gaz! What the hell are you doing in here? We're in the middle of an op…"

She cut him off, punching him across the room. He slammed into a tray of bloody equipment. The surgeons scrambled, some heading to help Dib, the others rushing to the phone to call security. Dib looked up at his sister, rocking his jaw back and forth with his fingers. She tossed the tape over to him as he sat up, nurses trying to help him up. He looked at it and at her while she spoke in a dark tone, "I hope you're fucking proud of yourself, you asshole."

He picked it up, turning it around, giving it a strange look, "What the hell is this?" he said, standing.

Gaz was fuming, tears gathering in her eyes again. She looked like she would start shooting Dib where he stood. "That…is a gift your lovely wife left us!" she howled.

Guards burst in, guns in hand, aimed at Gaz. She didn't move, still locked on her brother. Dib picked up his hand, stopping them, "Wait."

They looked at him, confused, but lowered their guns. Dib held up the tape at his sister, "Tak _left_ this. Wh-what is…?"

Gaz, spitting and screaming at him, her hair whipping in and out of her face, finally snapped at him, "She took Hope, you fucking idiot! While you were here, torturing the wrong alien, she fucking took her from us!...She's with her leaders…and they're holding her…for ransom…" she cried, falling to her knees as her tears scattered across her face, "AND IT'S ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT!"

She went down onto her hands, screaming as she cried, choking on her sorrow. Dib looked at her sister in disbelief as his eyes flickered, trying to take in everything she had just told him. They all turned as Zim's arm whipped up into the air, metal grinding and snapping as he freed his right hand from the bondage. The surgeons came up to him, but he clawed them away from him, pulling his other arm free as his legs struggled under the remaining bondages. He pulled himself off of the frame, punching and smashing his way past the surgeons and guards. Someone tried firing at him, but he bolted, tackling them down as a few bullets went through his arm. He smashed the human into the wall, breaking his jaw and nose. He jumped back at the surgeons, punching one into the wall, knocking the other into a hanging monitor. He punched the remaining doctor in the stomach, grabbing his scalpel before throwing him into the two nurses.

Zim ran across to Dib, knocking the human off his feet as he shoved Dib into the wall, a scalpel at his throat. Dib was in too much shock to even struggle against the alien's might. Zim's eyes, though dull and weak, were fiery red with anger. He wanted so badly to cut the human's gigantic head straight off his neck, "Th-they took her," he whispered, his lip quivering. "THEY FUCKING TOOK HER! No matter what we do now, they WILL kill her! They're fucking gonna kill our daughter, you fucking monster," he slammed Dib repeatedly into the wall, screaming in utter fury. Gaz just sat and watched, an anger still sweeping over her pale wet face. Dib began tearing, a look of defeat on his face. Zim's eyes flared as he held the scalpel closer to Dib's neck, "And why? Because you trusted Tak! Because you were so caught up with getting revenge against me, YOU FORGOT ABOUT YOUR OWN FUCKING DAUGHTER!"

Zim was crying now, just like Gaz and Dib, only worse. His face was still scorching in fury, but deep down, his heart was shattering over the loss of his child. Gaz stood, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes, "Zim, killing him won't solve the situation…"

"Goddammit, it'll make me feel a fuck load better, though," Zim tried, still looking furious. He took a step back, dropping the scalpel as blood dripped from his stinging back. His face grimaced in pain, but he refused to scream it out, to fall over and faint, to coat the floor with a layer of puke. He stood, simply holding his arms as he stared at the human in fury.

Dib skidded down the wall, looking shattered. He watched as more guards came in, grabbing hold of Tak and Zim. They struggled and fought, kicking, clawing, biting, pounding. Dib sat there, watching as they were dragged off to holding cells, his body going numb as tears ran down his face.

He sat in his office for an hour, watching the tape over and over again. Watching his love mock and degrade their false relationship. The Tallests laughing in victory. Seeing his daughter chained and electrocuted. He turned the TV off, looking down. He knelt forward, is head spinning, his heart breaking.

How was he any different than the Tallests? He had let his jealousy, his anger, his hatred of Zim, get the best of him and he had chained and tortured the alien like the Tallests did his daughter. Dib looked at the photo of her on his desk, realizing her had made a horrible mistake, a mistake he wasn't even sure he could take back now.

He stood, his knees feeling weak under his weight, as he walked out of his office. He stumbled down the hallway awkwardly, thoughts running marathons in his mind as he headed down to the cell block.

Gaz sat in the opposite cell, quiet as ever as she sat on the floor, her knees to her chest. Zim sat quietly in his cell, his back against the wall as he legs spread out in front of him. He had a blank expression on his face. He was given a hospital gown which barely fit over his stomach and his back had been bandaged up. He was then left in the cell by himself and in pain; being asked no further questions. They were both silent, each of them deep in thought. Gaz was thinking about how she would never see her niece again and how she wanted to kill Dib right now. Zim was thinking about how he would get himself onto the ship to give himself up and was trying to figure out how he could do this without the smeet that was currently inside him.

They both looked up, only their eyes moving, as footsteps echoed through the hallway. Dib stopped, directly in front of both their cells, his head low, hugging his arms. Silence consumed the quiet prison block once more.

Zim closed his tired weak eyes, speaking in a strained voice, "Dib-human."

Dib looked over at the alien, as did Gaz. "We can get Hope back. But for this to work, I need your help."

Gaz's legs dropped as her hands touched the ground, "You have a plan?"

"If you can get this smeet out of me now…"

"No, we are not handing you over to them, Zim…" Gaz tried, not allowing the invader to finish his sentence, but he pushed through, "Gaz, if you want to see Hope again, this might be our only choice!"

"The smeet is still underdeveloped, Zim," Dib shook his head.

"That's why I need your help. Your scientists can help keep it alive…"

"It won't work, Zim…"

"It has to work!" Zim suddenly yelled, his eyes shooting open. Dib and Gaz looked at him as he continued, sorrow hitting his voice, "It has to work. If this is the only way to save my children…"  
>Dib walked up to the cell door, keeping a bit of distance between him and Zim, as he bent down, "Zim, I want Hope back, safe and sound as much as you do. Look me in the eye and tell me you see disbelief in them."<p>

Zim looked away. Dib continued, "I refuse to induce labour in order for this to work. It not fair to Hope to see her father handed over to his leaders to be tortured. Not only that, you said it yourself. They'll never let her go, even if we do hand you over to them," he paused, looking down, "No. We need to find another way."

Zim looked at Dib. Gaz slowly rose behind them, straightening her jacket. Dib turned to face her, standing as well, "Well then. If we're gonna do this, Dib, Zim and I need something from you as well."

Dib stood straighter, listening to his sister as she continued, "You need to trust us. Both of us. You can't keep us locked up here any longer, and you _cannot_ keep experimenting on Zim," she insisted, giving him a look.

Zim mumbled from below them, "She makes a good point on that last one."

Dib sighed. He went up to each cell, typed in the passcode and the doors opened. Gaz stepped out, but Zim remained on the floor, still sitting. Gaz walked up to her brother and stared at him for a moment…before slapping him across the face. He grabbed his cheek and looked at her. She then trembled a bit and gave her brother a huge hug, nearly knocking him off his feet. He held his sister as they embraced one another. "I'm so sorry, Gaz. I promise, I'll never do this to you or our family again."

"You better not, or I'll skin you alive and hang you by your toenails from five inch hooks," she laughed through tears, enjoying her brother's hug.

They pulled away and gave one another a reassuring smile. They hated one another at times, but they were still brother and sister and would always be there for one another.

Gaz walked over to Zim and knelt down to meet his eyes. She felt awful for how sick he looked. She reached over and hugged him. He remained still, closing his eyes, too weak to fight her off of him. She pulled away and helped him up, Dib joining her as they pulled him up by his arms. He grunted, his teeth gritting as he stood on his feet, holding his stomach and placing a hand on his back. Gaz kept a hold of him as he took a few breaths, "Zim? What's wrong? Are you…?" Gaz tried. He interrupted, "I-I'm okay. Just weak. God, I'm getting too big for this." Gaz gave him a weak smile as he stood a bit straighter and looked at Dib. He took a breath and punched Dib between the eyes, sending the human backwards. He hit the floor with a loud thud, grunting in agony. Zim shook his hand as he looked at the shivering human, "Don't expect me to hug you, Dib-stink. I'm not sorry for that."

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><p><strong>I'm sure everyone was waiting for that one :) Come on, am I right here?<strong>

**Okeey dokeey, that's all I can get done today. Tomorrow, I shall try and do two chapters (if I have time).**

**I am starting work on Sun Flowers as we speak. As I said, I will keep you updated as I go along.**

**I just have two questions to start off with, just to double check with you guys (who better to ask than the readers) :D?**

**1. Are you guys gonna continue reading these series if I continue? :o**

**2. Would you be able to handle another Mpreg story or maybe a rape scene (not a very good one seeing as I draw the line somewhere with these things X_X)? I don't know if I'm pushing the boat out too far or what so better check before I continue.**

**Leave your answers in the reviews or Private Message me what you think and then I shall let you know what is happening :) If we don't want any of these, I do have a backup plan, so...yay :D**

**See you soon and don't forget those reviews (hope you're still enjoying the story)**


	13. Plotting

**Well, it is officially been made official :) THE NEXT STORY SHALL BE WRITTEN XD**

**Horray! You guys are AMAZING! Your reviews and messages and overall feedback have comlpetely blown me out of my plastic school chair into my locker (hello? Hello! Someone let me out of here! I'm stuck! HELLO?)**

**...**

**Moving on :P**

**So, the next story (Sun Flowers :D) Shall be published...in a bit...when this one is done and dusted :) Okeey dokeey. This is good.**

**Oh, the other good news (there's more? You're gonna make our heads explode!)**

**I shall be making myself a DeviantArt account soonish...AND WILL BE DOING COVERS AND STUFF! :D with the help of my friend Tunica Spellcaster. If you guys have ANY AND ALL pics for this story and the others to come...or if you have any requests (a scene you are dying to see or a character you want drawn), let me know in your reviews and I will see what I can do. :D**

**Okay, time for chapter updating :o**

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><p>They sat together in Dib's office. Gaz sat in the chair in front of his desk while Zim took his chair (his back hurting beyond words). Dib paced around his office, which began annoying Zim. They had a day left before Hope would be killed and so, putting all their differences and hatred for one another aside, decided it was time to take some action.<p>

"How can we get onto the ship without being noticed?" Dib mumbled to himself.

"It's near impossible," Zim said, rubbing a hand over his stomach. Dib had given him a pair of black jeans, a large blue jersey and some shoes. Zim felt ridiculous but at least felt less exposed. He hated showing off his skin like that and was grateful for whatever he had on at this point in time. "Irken engineers on the ship man the teleporters. For us to get on, they would have to teleport us through. We would need one of them on our side for that plan to ever work."

"You're good with tech, Dibby," Gaz commented, playing with a pencil, "Why can't you hack into their motherboard or something?"

"I need some form of access to it first. The ship is too far away right now for me to even try and get some form of wireless network to hack into," he stood by the door, looking out his window, watching his workers below typing and working away at their desks.

Zim looked up, something occurring to him. "Dib-human. You have some Irken programing on your computers already, don't you?"

Dib turned and looked at Zim, "Yeah."

Zim looked around, thinking now. He looked back at Dib, "Give me your computer, human, now!"

Dib walked over to a table to the corner of his office and brought it over to Zim. He turned it on, typed in his password and it welcomed him. He double clicked on an Irken Icon on his desktop and schematics consumed the screen, a Irken smiley face saying "Welcome Tak. Report for duty!"

Zim looked at a few of the schematics and began typing away at the system. He got annoyed with the keyboard and huffed at the screen, "Inferior human keyboard!"

He reached into his PAK and took out a flat mat plus a storage device looking thing. He plugged them into the computer and began sliding his claws across the mat, getting the job done a lot quicker. His eyes dashed across the screen, files coming up in Irken. He double clicked on the folder leading to his storage device and uploaded it to the system. His fingers scrambled across the mat as he tried to upload these various files into the right mainframes. Gaz and Dib watched him carefully. Dib was quite impressed that he was doing so well. "So, exactly what is this doing, Zim?" Gaz inquired, not looking overly impressed, though.

"If I can get these folders and passwords in the right order, it'll allow me to send a message to a couple of friends of mine on the ship. They will be able to get us on that ship," he said, his gaze not leaving the screen.

"You have friends?" Dib said bluntly. Zim shot him a look. "Shut up," he mumbled before he continued, nearly finished.

"Almost…there!" he cried victoriously.

The screen went white, before camera angels of different parts from within the Massive came on. Zim grinned widely and began hitting the arrow keys on the keyboard, angels changing to different parts of the ship. He found the prison block and went in search.

Click. Click. Click…WAIT! Back click.

There they were. A small smile entered his face.

Skoodge sat on his bed, applying a thin purple liquid to a cut along his chest. Tunica lay in the bed next to his, flat on her stomach. She was watching Skoodge and chatting with him. He laughed slightly, grinning at her. She smiled. Their words were blocked out, though, so Zim wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about. It didn't matter, though. Gaz looked at Zim, "Who are those two?"

"They helped me escape. It's time we repay the favour," he smiled. He slid his hand across the flat pad, causing an alarm to ring in the ship. Skoodge and Tunica looked around. On the various other camera angels, guards ran in circles, the Tallests confused as to what the alarms were for. Zim pressed a few buttons on the normal keypad and then on his flat one. The camera above the screen of Dib's computer lit up and on all screens in the Massive, Zim's pale face appeared everywhere. The Tallests looked pissed. He grinned, Dib and Gaz looking confused. "Miss me?" Zim mocked.

Tunica and Skoodge gave a smile. Zim pressed a few more keys. The doors of their cells unlocked and opened. Tentacles sprung from the walls and grabbed hold of the guards, slamming them into the cells. Skoodge helped Tunica up and they looked at one of the camera above them, waving at Zim. He waved back, "I was wondering what happened to you guys."

"We were waiting to hear back from you. You never call," Skoodge joked.

"We're near Earth, aren't we?" Tunica guessed, smiling at her friend.

"Yes, you are. We need your help, guys," Gaz said behind Zim.

"Who's that?" Tunica mumbled to Skoodge.

"Not sure. Could be a friend," he mumbled back.

Tunica gave him a confused look, "He has friends?"

Zim gave them an annoyed look. Dib began to speak, "Our daughter is on that ship. We need you guys to get us up there."

The Tallests gasped on the other camera screen, yelling orders to remaining officers, demanding them to do something. Gaz caught a glimpse of Hope in the cage. She was teary eyed, but smiling, seeing her family again. Zim continued anyway, "You know what to do, Skoodge."

"Of course," Skoodge smiled. "We'll do what we can. We'll head to the teleporters and set it up for you guys. Then, we'll go get Hope."

Zim looked at the camera where his daughter was, "Don't worry, Hope. We're coming for you." Hope gave her daddy a big smile. Zim looked back at Skoodge and Tunica. "Stay safe and hurry," Zim said. They nodded and went off running.

Zim shut the laptop immediately and threw it into the wall. Dib gave a look of utter horror. He then turned furiously to Zim, "What the hell, Zim? That was a $10 000 laptop!"

"The Tallests were tracking it while we were on. They've probably narrowed down the state we're in by now. 30 seconds longer and they would have had an army in here," Zim said in an obvious tone.

"Then we better start moving. Dib, put this place on lock-down and send everyone home," Gaz commanded. Dib nodded and made for the phone. She looked at the pregnant alien, "Zim, how does the Teleporter thingy work?"

"When Skoodge and Tunica reach the Teleporter, this will activate," he pointed to something in his PAK, "Then we'll just be teleported onto the ship."

"Does that thing come off?" she asked.

He pulled it out and showed it to her. She snatched it out of his hands and nodded, "Cool."

Zim shook his head in annoyance, "Hello? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Dib put the phone down as he looked over to the two of them, "Zim, look at yourself. You're in no condition to fight right now. And Dib," she turned to look at her brother. She frowned, "If this was a war against technology, you would be my first choice, bro. But I'm sure Hope could throw a better punch than you."

Dib was about to say something against that comment, but sighed, "She's right, unfortunately."

Zim stood, trying to keep his balance as he made his point, "You are not going alone! That's our daughter!"

"Yeah, and that's MY niece!" Gaz darkly added, warning Zim to give up. He took a step back, fear instilling itself in his chest. He pouted and sat back down. "I'll bring her and your friends back safe and sound, Zimmy," she smiled at him. He looked at her and rolled his eyes, grinning at her.

Dib put his hand on her shoulder. "If you're going it alone, you might want to take a few things with you, then."

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><p><strong>Oooh, the Tallests are gonna get it nooow :D<strong>

**Hmm, I wonder...do I feel like updating another chapter?**

**Hmmmm, decisions, decisions...**

**:)**


	14. Run now!

**I'm too nice to you people :p**

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><p>This suit was one of the finest pieces of machinery the Swollen Eyeball had to offer. They had been engineering it for decades now and it was near perfection. Dib was kinda sad to see it on his sister and not on himself. Zim warned Dib that he should say goodbye to his precious suit now because it wasn't going to make it back the way it left.<p>

Dib handed Gaz a communicator that she placed in her ear. "Just press it when you want to talk to me or Zim. It'll send a call to my phone which I'll be sure to have on me at all times."

"Yeah right," Zim mumbled to himself, sitting in a roller chair to the side of this lab. "Where are you and Zim gonna go? You have to at least get out of the state, Dib," Gaz said, concerned.

"Once you're gone, we'll take the car and head upstate to the Swollen Eyeball HQ there. We'll stay low till we're sure you guys are back safely. Then, we'll take our own course of action," Dib grinned.

"Oh, you are dying to try out those new missiles, aren't you?" Gaz smirked at her brother.

He shrugged. "Will you be able to handle a good couple of hours with Zim? I do want to see him alive when I get back. Not really sure how we're gonna explain that to his big strong friends when they get back if he's missing, eh?" Gaz warned.

Dib looked at Zim, who was looking at him, a bit concerned himself. Dib turned, "We'll be fine. I'm sure we'll keep talking to a minimal which should make the trip a lot easier."

"Yay," Zim sighed sarcastically.

Gaz held the square device Zim gave her as it began beeping. Zim stood and neared her, "The Teleporter is warming up."  
>"Good luck Gaz," Dib hugged his sister.<p>

"Don't need luck tonight. I've got skill," she smirked.

She nodded to them and then…nothingness engulfed her body.

Her body hit the ground like ton of bricks as life came back to her. She moaned, her head trying to register all her sense again. All she could hear was a blurred alarm going off.

Teleporting was something she could never really get used to. But, she wasn't too fazed by it luckily, and was up within seconds. She looked over at the two characters: an Irken, well-built, tall, with short antennae and a care in his eyes that she rarely saw in any Irken, even Zim. The other, a woman with dark brown hair and piercing silver eyes. She had two antennae that stuck out of her head, making Gaz second guess whether or not she was human.

"That's the man's sister. The one we saw on the screen," Tunica stated.

"How did you know that?" Gaz asked, rubbing her head, waiting for the spinning to stop.

"She's just weird like that. Wait till you shake her hand," Skoodge grumbled, "Where's Zim and your brother?"

"Still on Earth…" she was about to explain but Skoodge nodded, interrupting her, "Good. He didn't look like he would make the trip up here in one piece."

"He has gained a bit of weight since last we saw him," Tunica commented, swinging her fist into the main power supply. She ripped out a few circuits as electricity sparked. "Okay, Gaz. My name is Tunica Spellcaster and this is Skoodge. For the next three hours, seeing as the ship is set to jump into hyperspace and head back to the Irken's galaxy in that amount of time, we have to find Hope, defeat the Tallests and all their strongest guards, and make it back here in order to Teleport back to Earth in time. Ready?"

Gaz raised an eyebrow, "Fuck yeah."

Skoodge grabbed the unconscious guards' weapons, handing one to Tunica and Gaz, "Then let's get going."

Skoodge and Tunica, while running through the brightly lit purple and pink hallways, explained to Gaz how the guards in the Massive ranked. Elite soldiers were well trained and had the weapons to back up their power. However, most elite soldiers turned out to be quite short which could be a disadvantage and an advantage. Engineers had tech on their side, and now that the systems were back online (after Zim was messing with them for a moment back there), they were going to be quite difficult to take down. However, the actual engineer controlling the 'Battle Drones', always turned out to be weak, whiny, nerdy characters. Taking one of them down was never difficult. You just needed to get to them before they activated their machinery.

The closer to the Tallests you were heading, the tougher the security got. Tunica also theorized that they would run into Tak at some stage, knowing that she was going to defend her right and fight in becoming an invader.

They skidded to a stop as two normal invaders came out of the intersections before them. They activated their spider legs, ready to fight. Gaz swung a punch at the larger one, the force of fifty men in that one punch shooting through the tiny invader. He smashed into the wall, his PAK shattering to pieces. Skoodge swung his leg around at the other one, having it easily deflected by one of the spider legs. Skoodge knew this, and was doing this as a distraction. Tunica swooped under him, bringing up her fist, knocking the Irken into the air. He hit the roof above them, his legs shattering as he hit the ground. Skoodge brought up his leg, kicking him backwards, making sure he was out. Gaz looked at the two of them, "Wow, you guys seem like you practised that one."

Tunica and Skoodge grinned at her, "It's one of our best tactics when fighting on the battle field."

"Works every time," Skoodge said. "Come on, we have to keep going. These guys were just the warm up."

Gaz had to admit, these two had stamina. The Massive had every right to be called that. It was huge, and the prison block was on the other side of the ship. Gaz didn't even know if they'd be able to get to one side of the ship and back in the three hour period they had to work with. She found it quite unsettling, though that there wasn't much security back here. Cameras followed their movements; the Tallests obviously knew they were coming, what were they waiting for?

"They're planning to ambush us," Tunica said suddenly. Gaz looked at her. "Okay, so now you can read minds?"

Tunica frowned, "Sorry. Didn't mean to do that."  
>"What sort of powers do you have, Tunica?" Gaz asked, looking at the strange creature.<p>

"Now that I'm nearer to Earth, my powers are slowly returning to me," Tunica said, "We fairies rely on plant life for our powers and it's been a long time since I last used them, so this is gonna be fun."

"If you're a fairy, where are your wings?" Gaz commented.

"Long story that involves a mad scientist and some blunt instruments," Tunica grimaced. Gaz looked away as they came to a stop. Before them was a bottomless cavern of machinery, filled with wires and tubing. Skoodge looked around, "This is the main circuitry unit. Most of the ship's power comes from here."

"Should we destroy it?" Gaz asked.

"No. That keeps the life support going on this thing. You'll kill all of us on this ship," he said urgently, hoping Gaz wouldn't dare.

"That means we have to be careful, then," Tunica mentioned, looking down into the darkness below them.

"There's no way we'll be able to get across in time (or survive) if we go down there," Gaz mentioned.

"Then we're gonna have to find another way across," Skoodge looked around, trying to find something that'll help them do that.

Gaz brought up her arm, opening the case around that huge hunk of metal over her arm, and began typing away, trying to find something useful, "Come on, Dib. This thing has to have something we can use." She then found it. Perfect. She pointed her arm to the wall on the other side of the cavern and pressed a button. Out shot a grappling hook that shot through the wall. She aim downward and shot the other side of this hook into the floor beneath them. She pulled the remaining rope out her arm device and tested the wire, flicking her finger over it. It seemed to be sturdy enough. She stood and looked at the two warriors, "Okay. Ready?"

Tunica and Skoodge gave one another a surprised looked and went up to the wire, "Glad Zim sent this one up," Skoodge commented, grabbing a hold of the rope. He went to the edge and took a breath, letting his feet slip off it as he hung onto the wire. He swung his body and gripped his legs onto the rope. Once he was sure he wasn't going to slip, and that the rope was holding, he began crawling his way across. Tunica went next, grabbing the rope and swinging across by her arms, not lifting up her legs in anyway. Gaz gave a breath, her fear of heights coming into view, and took a hold of the rope, letting her hold on the ground release. She swung for a moment, fear shaking through her body. She stayed there for a moment, before swinging her body like Skoodge had and grabbed hold of the rope with her legs. She was racked with fear, but continued on, pulling her way across the rope, praying that it would hold.

The Tallest were not pleased with this. They could not stand the thought of Zim winning. And with his friends being this powerful, it was a likely chance that he would be able to do it. They watched as the three figures crawled and swung their way across their ship's main circuitry systems. Red huffed, "Stupid. Why would anyone help a defect like Zim?"

Purple turned to the engineers, "Do something to make them stop it! Make them fall or something!"

"But Sir, if they hit one of the wires connected to our life support…" the concerned engineer tried.

Purple roared at them, "Just do it!"

The engineers typed away at the boards in front of them, unsure of their leader's decision.

Her arms were getting soar and the blood was rushing to her head. Gaz wasn't sure how much longer she could last like this. Skoodge and Tunica just kept going. It wasn't even fazing them. Skoodge stopped, Gaz looking at him upside down, "Don't stop now! My arms are about to give out."

"Shh, something's wrong," he said, his antennae moving.

"Something below us is moving," Tunica said, looking down from her hang.

Metal grinded together as a huge metal tentacle shot out of the ground. The three figures yelled in surprised. It snapped back and forth, attempting to knock the character's off the rope. Tunica jumped out of the way, swinging up as the tentacle came at her. She quickly grabbed hold of the rope as the tentacle made for Skoodge. He released his leg's grip and hung as the tentacle shot past him, cutting his cheek. The tentacle made for Gaz next. Tunica kicked the tentacle out of the way, Gaz losing her grip and hanging on for dear life by one hand.

The tentacle flickered for a moment after being kicked and shot up higher. It then stormed down, snapping the wire. The three of them screamed in terror as they plummeted towards the wires.

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><p><strong>Yep, better cliffhanger than the last chapter :) Gotta keep you guys on the edge of your seats...because its fun! And because I'm supposed to be doing my history project right about now ^^'<strong>

**The next chapter will definately be up tomorrow.**

**Please, PLEASE review :) Zim commands you to do it! And don't forget about those scene suggestions. My friend will probably beat me with my amr because she's not into this thing, but I'm sure she doesn't mind :) Sorta :)**

**Nah, she's chilled**

**Moving on XD  
>See you tomorrow :)<strong>


	15. The Scare

**WHA! :D**

**I have returned...half dead, but I have returned.**

**Late updatings today , but hey. I had my Art Porject due yesterday X_X so, yeah...I was scrambling. Stayed up for FIVE hours trying to do it last night so...yeah.**

**Thank youz for the reviews (yay!) Keep them coming :)**

**I'm surprised at you guys, though. No requests so far? :o I did get one request for a picture of Hope :) So, I shall be posting the pic of her...TOMORROW :D I finally finished my DeviantArt account! I shall try and edit it tomorrow :3 Hopefully ^^'**

**So, go check it out. Same name as here (Invader Hope6) and yeah, go comment and enjoy :)**

**Now, next chapter...here we goes :D**

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><p>Zim sat next to him, arms folded, looking rather tired and in a bit of pain. His back hadn't stopped aching since the operation that afternoon and it was really taking a strain on him. But as if he would share this information with the Dib-human. To reveal any form of weakness to a human was beyond Zim (in certain situations) but to do it in front of his greatest enemy was a joke Zim laughed at. His head rested against the window, the coolness a welcomed relief. He actually didn't realize how hot he felt and how much he was enjoying the cold window. Dib turned off from the off-ramp and was now on the highway, his main course being for the next state. "Okay, Zim. It'll be about two hours before we manage to get to the next state. From there it should take us half an hour to reach the Swollen Eyeball HQ there. In an hour and a half, I'll give Agent Dark Booty a call and let him know we're coming,"<p>

"Whatever, Dib-stink," Zim muttered, his eyes closed with his head against the window. His hand was rubbing his stomach slowly, something he had gotten so used to he'd stopped noticing when he actually did it. "As long as when we get there, I can get as far away from you as possible. Being stuck with you like this now is annoying me enough as is."

Dib sighed, mumbling to himself that this was going to be a long night.

"Human, this car is boiling me alive!" Zim moaned after twenty minutes of driving in silence, "Turn the flipping AC or something."

Dib, who was slowly nodding off at the wheel, and was wondering whether or not to put the autopilot on, snapped awake and looked over at Zim, "What are you talking about, you Outer space reject? It's minus 2 outside! It's freezing cold!"

Zim sat straight, his face feeling too warm for comfort now, "Zim demands Air Conditioning! It is hot!"

Dib gave Zim a look of utter confusion. It was sub-zero tonight. And considering it was boarding on midnight, the evening was at its peak of coldness. How in the world could Zim be warm, let alone hot? Stupid alien chemistry. It was probably his pregnancy that was making him hot. Dib fought through, "Zim, I am not putting the air con on. I want to arrive at HQ with at least a few fingers still attached to my hand and not in a paper bag!"

"Zim does not care about your stupid fingers!" he yelled at the human suddenly, "Put it on!"

"No!" the human insisted. Zim began fighting with him, trying to reach the button to turn the AC on. Dib reached over and began wrestling with Zim, one of his hands still on the steering wheel. The car swerved slightly on this empty road. The horn eventually went off when Dib's elbow knocked into it.

What Dib didn't see was a traffic light coming up. His car went straight on through, shooting through the red light. "Shit!" he muttered, his hands returning to the steering wheel. Zim took this human's distractedness as his cue, and pushed the AC button. Dib gave him a glare and was about to turn it off when sirens filled the air. Dib sighed, "That's just fan-tucking-fastic. This is exactly what I needed tonight."

He pulled the car over to the side of the road, the police car stopping behind him. Dib looked over at Zim, "Don't say anything and fix your wig. One of your antennae is sticking out."

Zim fixed his wig and pouted, not liking being silenced by the human. His gaze drifted to the floor as he noticed a discarded roll of lipstick on the car's mat. He gave a grin, an idea entering his mind.

Dib rolled down the icy window and gave a slight shiver from the sudden cold air that entered his car. He smiled up at the broad shoulder police officer, "Good evening, officer," Dib smiled awkwardly, knowing he was in trouble.

"Evening, Sir. You do realize you ran a red light back there, right?" he said, making notes on his pad.

"Um, yes, I did realize that after it happened, yes," he said, annoyed at Zim still but not looking back at him.

"License and registration please, Sir," the officer said.

Dib nodded and reached into his jean's pocket. He pulled them both out of his wallet and handed it over to the officer. He took it and looked over it, "Ah, you're that famous paranormal investigator person, right?" he mentioned, handing Dib's licence back to him.

"Um, yeah, that's me," Dib said more awkwardly, hoping the officer wouldn't think some like, "Oh, because you're a celebrity, you think you can do whatever you want, huh?"

Oh, how right he was. The officer frowned, taking his sunglasses off _CSI Miami style_, "I really hate it when celebrities think they can do whatever you want because you're famous and can drive shiny cars and what not."

Dib looked away, his cheeks going red. _Why me? Why tonight?_ The officer was about to continue when Zim interrupted, giving out a grunt of pain. Dib and the officer looked back at him, Dib especially confused, "What the Fuck?" he mumbled under his breath.

Zim had smeared lipstick over his lips. Dib's jaw dropped as Zim held his stomach, looking as though he would explode. The officer dashed over to the other side of the car to see if 'she' was okay. "Ma'am, are you alright?" he asked as Zim opened the window for him, relishing in that fresh cold air that entered the car.

"F-Fine, officer," Zim said in a really bad female voice, "It's just…ow!" he said, his eyes closing, as though he was going into labour or something. Dib's chest tightened. Was he faking it, or was he really in pain? His face paled.

Zim tried to continue as the officer tried to get the door open. He knelt down, placing a hand on Zim's leg (which made Zim flinch. He didn't like having a human touch him and he nearly swiped his claws at the officer for trying it, but fought himself not to). "I'm so sorry, human law enforcement, for my…er…friend's reckless driving tonight. It's just, I'm expecting and I think I might be having my baby," Zim said, panting almost. "The baby is a few months early and we're both really worried. He was being a bit of an idiot driving like that, but still."

Dib wanted to glare at Zim for that last, unnecessary comment, but after seeing the look on the officer's face, he couldn't ruin this perfect lie for them…well, he was at least hoping it was still a lie.

Zim began breathing heavily, still holding onto his stomach tightly. The officer stood, "No ma'am, don't apologize. I-I'm so sorry for keeping both of you waiting. If you want, I can turn the sirens on and drive you there myself to get you there quicker?"

Zim tried to smile politely, "No, no. It's okay. W-we're nearly there. And besides, an officer of such standard must obviously be busy. W-we won't waste your time further", he tried, not really wanting to cramp into this annoying officer's police car.

The officer nodded. "Alright then. Best be on your way then. Congratulations," the officer said with a tip of his hat as he shut the door for Zim. Zim nodded and looked at Dib to start driving, that idiotic human. He shook his head, trying to return to reality and turned the car back on, driving off as Zim continued to pant.  
>When he was sure they were out of range from the officer, Zim simply stopped and sigh, lying back after hunching over like that, "Well, that was close."<p>

Dib looked at him, his face still paled slightly, "Y-you were faking…back there, right?" he said in a shaky voice.

Zim gave him a look as he wiped off the lipstick with the sleeve of the jersey Dib gave him, "Of course, you simple minded human."

Dib sighed with relief. Zim grinned as he rested his head against the window again. "And, I got what I wanted."

Dib looked up in annoyance, realizing the AC was on. His teeth shuttered in anger and coldness as he continued to drive along this deserted road.

Dib began dozing. His hands rested behind his head as the car continued moving. After a half an hour of driving after the officer had stopped him, he put the autopilot on, knowing the rest of the trip until the state line would be a straight road with no traffic lights or intersections. The windows automatically tinted themselves (so no officers would stop him for not having his hands on the wheel) and he decided to take a small nap. He hadn't slept well these last few nights, having nightmares about his family, so he was in much need of a quick snooze. Zim seemed to have nodded off straight after the officer had left, so Dib didn't bother him (he did, however put the A-con off because his lips were going blue).

After ten or so minutes, though, he was awakened by soft groans from the side of him. His eyes flickered open slightly, before shutting again, not really registering the noise as he fell back asleep.

After another fifteen minutes, the groans had turned into a loud grunt. Dib's eyes snapped open, before blinking dazedly. He sat straight, pinching the bridge of his nose in exhaustion, "Zim…? What's up? Why are you moaning so much?"

"I-it's n-nothing, human," The alien forced out in aching words.

Dib (who still hadn't actually looked at the alien), rubbed his eyes after whipping off his glasses momentarily, "It doesn't sound like nothing," he grumbled tiredly. He put his glasses back on and finally looked over at the alien.

His eyes shot wide open. Zim lay in his seat, both arms firmly gripped around his stomach. He was ever so slightly arched forward, his head still against the window as his teeth gritted. Sweat dripped from his flushed face. "Zim?"

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><p><strong>Oooh, that doesn't sound good :o<strong>

**R&R and keep on enjoying the story :3**

**Oh, and if you do have requests, speak now, because tomorrow is my only day off for the next two weeks :) So, yeah...:)**


	16. Mechs

**Due to difficulties with story writing, I am afraid to announce I will be discontinuing this story...**

...

...

**HA! Just messing with you. I really hate it when people do that XD It's happened with many of these stories when the person is like "well, I just don't feel like finishing it so there" I want to find those people and be like "You crazy! IT'S THE BEST PART! FINISH THE STORY, DAMMIT!**

**Anyway, like I said, I'm finishing this to the end. I actually had a nice rest today and also know what's happening in the next story so I am excited to start that baby up today. My GOd, you guyss are gonna love me and hate me all at the same time. I just hope it's as good as this one was ^^'**

**Hope you guys enjoy the next chapter (and again, it was a joke. I am finishing this, so don't stress) :)**

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><p>Gaz held onto Tunica's ankles as tightly as she could, hoping she could hold on. Tunica was gripping onto Skoodge's spider legs as the three of them hung on the wall of the cavern, just barely touching the web of wires below them. Gaz was breathing hard, praying that her hold wouldn't slip or anything. The spider legs grinded under their weight as they pulled their way towards the edge above them, "I take it that Tallests know we're coming, huh?" Gaz mumbled, looking down in dismay.<p>

"Probably," Skoodge grunted, his legs straining. He watched them carefully, hoping they weren't going to snap.

"We should have seen that one coming," Tunica mentioned, pulling up slightly to keep the flow of blood going through her already numb arms.

It had taken them twenty minutes before they were able to reach the top. Skoodge helped up Gaz as Tunica jumped, landing on the floor and shaking her limbs, trying to get some blood supply back to them. Gaz took a breath, her hands resting on her legs as she leant forward, the adrenaline slowly fading. Tunica looked around, "There are camera's everywhere. We have to keep moving."

"You alright, Gaz?" Skoodge asked, his spider legs retracting as he got ready to start moving again.

"Let's go," she said, standing straight.

The went off running, heading down a narrow, long hallway that made all of them slightly dizzy as the lights swirled around them.

"How close are we to the Tallests?" Gaz asked, trying to keep her eyes closed through most of this, the lights making her feel sick.

"They're at the bridge," Skoodge said, his antennae ringing from the lights, "If we just passed the circuitry system, they're still a good hour away."

"Dammit! We'll never be able to get there and back in time at this rate!" Gaz yelled, getting annoyed.

"Then we take matters into our own hands," Tunica said, grabbing both their hands as they ran. She closed her eyes and ran faster, Skoodge and Gaz trying hard to keep with her. Her speed grew before eventually, after a spark in her eyes, her feet left the ground, Skoodge and Gaz being taken for a ride. They flew through the hallways at a speed, "How are you doing this?" Gaz said, looking around in shock and amazement, a smile on her face.

Tunica grinned, "Magic."

They shot through the dizzy lit hallway into an open space with hundreds of guards below them, ready to fight the characters. Tunica let go of Skoodge and Gaz as she flew up to where suspensions hung. Gaz landed on a guard, ploughing on of the guards easily into the ground as Skoodge spun into a kick, knocking all guards around him out. Tunica pulled off a pipe from one of the suspensions and flew passed the hung suspension, using the pipe to snap the wires on each side.

Below, Gaz took out four more elite soldiers, knocking them each into the wall as Skoodge took care of one of the battle drones. The drone threw Skoodge into Gaz, knocking both of them off their feet. It neared them, activating its energy beams to disintegrate both of them…when a huge floor of metal smashed onto it, flattening it like the pancake Gaz served to Zim all those weeks ago. Gaz and Skoodge looked up as Tunica landed next to them, "You guys are lucky there's so much air on this ship, or I wouldn't have been able to get that high," she smirked. She threw the pipe on the floor and looked at them. "How far are we now?"

"Well, thanks to you, not that far," Skoodge mentioned, "If we travel through that vent over there, we'll be in the bridge in about half an hour."

"This still seems too easy. Then again, this is the Irkens we're talking about," Gaz thought to herself. She looked at Skoodge and Tunica, "Let's get going. We are too close for us to start getting lazy."

Skoodge grabbed hold of the cover, with his spider legs, that was over the vent he had pointed. The characters looked inside as steam poured out of it, "You sure this is safe, Skoodge?" Tunica asked looking quite sceptical.

"Sure it is…I think," he looked confused.

"Where does this vent lead from?" Gaz asked, looking more and more unsure as this moment went on.

Skoodge gave a look of consideration, before shaking his head, "I have no idea. But, I know that it'll lead to the bridge where the Tallests are," he said, beginning to climb into it.

Tunica and Gaz gave one another a look, before sighing, climbing in after him. "And how are you so sure that this leads to the Tallests?" Gaz commented, crouching down as they began crawling through the vent.

"Zim and I may have used this vent once or twice when he was here," Skoodge said awkwardly.

"To do what?" Gaz nearly yelped, but calmed her voice enough at the end to make it sound a bit better.

"They used to sneak through this way to the cafeteria at night to go get munchies," Tunica theorized, "I remember you two telling me about it, you just never mentioned which vent you used."

"We would always pass by the bridge and once or twice we would hear the Tallests speaking and complaining," Skoodge said as his knee moved over a gap in the way.

Gaz looked around at the dark blue piping as they continued forward, "You and Zim were close friends, eh?"

Skoodge gave a small smile, "Yeah. I think more recently, we grew closer as friends because of our situation."  
>"You mean being kept prisoner here?"<p>

Skoodge paused, almost sad, "Yeah."

Gaz looked forward, realizing what she just said, "Sorry, I didn't mean…"  
>"It's fine. How is Zim, anyway?" Skoodge said, trying to change the subject.<p>

Now Gaz felt awkward. She didn't really want to try and explain to one of Zim's only friends how he had been tortured by her brother and left to rot in a cell. She looked down, watching her hands move forward as she mumbled, "He's a bit scared but alright."

"Scared?" Tunica mumbled between the two of them, her antennae limp in front of her face. "What's he scared about?"

"He mentioned a while ago he was a bit scared about having the baby," Gaz mentioned, still looking down.

Skoodge and Tunica fell silent for a moment. She looked up at them, "What's wrong?"

"We can sort of understand why he's so worried, Gaz," Tunica mentioned, sounding a bit down.

"After finding him th-that night in the forest covering in his own blood and dying…I don't know, I guess…" Skoodge stopped, not really sure what to add to that.

Gaz fell silent. She knew Zim was telling the truth but to hear from someone other than Zim…it felt too real for her now. She gave a sigh as they continued on, silence surrounding them for the next twenty minutes of crawling.

Skoodge started to slow, almost coming to a stop as he reached the barbed cover underneath him. He awkwardly looked back at the others, "This is it. Are you guys ready?"

Gaz and Tunica gave a nod. He took a breath and brought his knee up to his chest. He kicked it through the grate, breaking it off completely. He jumped through, Tunica and Gaz right behind him.

They landed heavily on a set of control, hundreds of thousands of soldiers, invader, engineers and battle drones surrounding them. Their eyes went wide as the Tallests looked over at them, holding Hope in her cage still, grinning. "Well, well, well; look what we have here. A few lost prisoners looking to saver their dear old friend," Red smirked.

"It's pathetic," Purple added, sipping on his soda.

Gaz and Tunica shot them a nasty look. "Well, men; what are you waiting for?" Purple continued.

"Kill them," Red ordered.

Gun rose and clicked into place, all aimed at the three characters. "Ah crap," Gaz mumbled.

Bullets and energy beams filled the air. Skoodge activated his spider legs into a force field that deflected most of it. Tunica broke through the field and jumped, landing on the framing around where the Tallest's stood. They looked at her in surprise as she clapped her hands together once, pulling them back and forth with her fingers still locked. "So, I hear you guys like water, eh?"

She snapped her arms apart, a wave of water extending from one palm to the next. The huge surge of aqua hit a good fifty of the soldiers in front of her. The Irkens screamed in agony, running around in circles as the water sizzled against their skin.

This caused a decrease in the shooting, allowing Skoodge and Gaz a chance to fight back. Skoodge jumped down, activating his spider legs' beams. He outstretched them and hit as many soldiers as he could, knocking as many as he could off their feet. Gaz jumped over to the elite soldiers and began knocking each one out like her gaming character would on her handheld she used to play with before Hope was around. The armour around the soldiers shuttered as they hit the ground and walls.

Tunica turned to face the leaders that captured and tortured her and her friends and smirked, "Not so confident now, are you?"

"I wouldn't say that," Purple mumbled as he pointed behind Tunica. She turned as the floors began to shake. She held onto the frame now, nearly losing her balance as everyone stopped fight and looked up.

The doors slammed apart, cutting through the metal as though it was butter. Grinding metal echoed through the bridge as metal hit the ground heavily. Skoodge and Gaz looked terrified. Tunica was shocked. In stepped three Megadoomers. Tunica's antennae fell into her face again, her eyebrows raised. "That's just not fair."

"And that's just the start," Red grinned behind her.

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><p><strong>DAMN THOSE GUYS! Flippen hell!<strong>

**Hey, wonder what happened with Zim and Dib? :o**

**Guess we'll find out tomorrow :)**

**R&R and I shall check you then**


	17. Driveby

**Ooooh, the part we've been waiting for :D Back to Dib and Zim! I know you've all been wanting to know how he's been doing and wondering if he's gone into labour and what not and here I go rambling to build up suspence and annoy all fo you and I know half of you have probably skipped over this by now to get to the good part :p**

**Well, no more waiting! Here we go!**

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><p>"Yes, Agent Dark Booty? This is Agent Mouth Man," Dib said, trying to keep his pitch from going too high, something that happened quite a bit when he was really panicked, "Listen, I'm heading to HQ right now and I'm calling in an emergency."<p>

"What's is it, Agent Mouth Man?" his superior said on the other line, sounding a bit concerned.

"I have a medical emergency. I need you to have a ward ready for me with a trained doctor and nurse. No agents must know about this, Sir. I need you to clear the wings and offices leading to the ward," Dib readjusted gear in his car, going a bit faster as Zim gave a sigh.

"You want me to…? What is this regarding, Agent Mouth Man? What is going on?" His superior sounded annoyed that Dib still wasn't telling him exactly what they were preparing for.

"I don't have time to explain now, Sir. Just have those things waiting for me."

There was silence on the other side for a moment. "Alright, Mouth Man. I'll call in and set it up for you. I'm away on a conference tonight, so I won't be there. But I'll make sure Agent Wing Man keeps an eye on things."

"Thank you so much, Sir. I swear I will explain this to you another time," Dib sighed in relief.

"Stay well, Agent Mouth Man. Agent Dark Booty out."

Dib shut his phone and threw it into his pocket as he typed in the coordinates into the GPS on his dashboard. Zim was lying in the backseat on his back; his head resting on Dib's folded up jacket. Dib was panic struck, trying to figure out how he was going to get Zim into HQ without any Agents spotting the pregnant alien and wheeling him off to be experimented on. "How are you doing back there, Zim?" the human panicked.

Zim gave him a look, an unimpressed look on his face. He didn't realize the human would be making THIS much of a fuss.

After they had driven away from the police officer, Zim had begun feeling a few pangs in his stomach; something he theorized would be the baby moving around slightly. After all, the experimenting hadn't really helped. After a couple of minutes, he deciding a nap would make him feel a bit better. However, when he woke up, he was feeling worse, having a fever and a few more pains than before.

This is, of course, when Dib woke up.

Zim tried to explain to an incredibly panicked Dib that this could be nothing more than pregnancy pains, but Dib was convinced that the baby was coming. He stopped the car, placed a struggling Zim into the backseat and began his more hurried drive to HQ.

Zim was now in the backseat, still looking rather worse for wear, holding onto his still aching stomach, watching as the human panicked over nothing. (Well, in Zim's mind it was nothing. In actual fact, he was probably in denial himself over what was actually happening)

Zim hadn't realized that Dib was actual panicked for a reason. The strain from earlier that day, from finding out about Hope and Tak and the Tallests…Zim had no idea what was coming and decided he was going to try and deny it for the time being. It wasn't working as the pains got worse. He covered it well, though.

"Dib, the smeet isn't coming…," Zim tried, looking at the fabric ceiling above him, not realzing how strained and in pain his voice actually sounded. Dib ignored the comment and continued, "Zim, when we get to HQ, I'll make sure the OR is prepped and ready for you. We can…"

Zim snapped up, "No, Dib! We cannot cut this baby out of me!"

Dib gave a look, activating the autopilot. He pressed a button on his seat and turned 90 degrees to his right. He turned himself once more (without his seat moving this time) and sat facing Zim, "What do you mean we can't? Zim, how else are we going to get the child out of you…? I mean…besides the _obvious_ way?"

Zim looked at Dib, his arms still wrapped around his stomach. He looked beyond pissed, "Dib! I h-have already explained this to you once before! Don't you ever fucking pay attention?"

Dib gave a look of annoyance. He knew Zim would start losing it…he was kinda hoping it wouldn't be this quickly, but hey, the calm was nice while it lasted, "Zim, you nearly remodelled one of my surgeon's faces because his scalpel travelled too close to your stomach. You never actually explained why, however. You just said 'DON'T DO IT!'"

Zim gritted his teeth for a moment before he spoke, "I-I…listen, Dib monkey…If y-you were to try and cut this horrible little sack of jelly out of me, b-both of us will…be instantly killed."

Dib gave the alien a look, "Why? Our surgeons are as trained as they come…"

"Those trained apes you call surgeons could be as skilled as my superior race and it still wouldn't make a difference!" Zim near yelled. He continued, his breathing becoming quite erratic now, "The medics on the-the Massive have programmed the PAK to send out a poisonous hormone that is lethal to the smeet. I-if the smeet dies within me, I'll die too, due to my b-body going into shock."

Dib's eye went wide in horror. He held onto Zim's hand, not really knowing why, "Why would they do such an idiotic thing?"

Zim gave Dib a look as though he should let go of his hand before he rips it clean off his arm. Zim took a breath, forcing the pain-filled words as he tried to explain this to Dib. He couldn't believe it himself, "M-my leaders d-demanded it. I-it was so I would suffer the m-most during this experience b-before they killed me themselves!"

Dib looked away, "Bastards. Zim, will you be able to…you know…actually have the child…" he really couldn't say it.

Zim shook his head now, getting really annoyed with the human's constant questions about something that wasn't happening, "Will you give it a rest, you fucking moron! I'm not having the smeet now! I'm not giving birth or anything like that! SO give it a break and leave Zim alone!"

Dib took a breath, not sure what he was going to have to do to convince Zim that this was actually happening.

Dib didn't have to, though. An agonizing pain shot through Zim at that very point, shocking the off-guard alien by surprise. His body shook slightly as he grabbed his stomach tightly, yelling in misery, his grip on Dib's hand nearly dislocating a few fingers. Dib bit his lip hard, trying not to let out a scream of his own as the alien crushed his hand. As his yelling died down, the pain passing, he took a few breaths, his eyes closed as his teeth gritted again, "S-stupid sm-smeet."

Dib took out his handkerchief and wiped the alien's sweaty face again, not realizing how upset he was seeing Zim in this much agony. He had always wanted to see Zim screaming in pain as his insides exploded…but it was different this time. Their own child was doing this to him…and what was worse, Zim was willing to take it. Dib couldn't believe this was the same evil alien he was fighting just a few years ago. He gave a sigh, trying not to think about how he had wronged the alien so much before for things he hadn't done.

He placed his other hand on Zim's stomach where his arm was tightly wrapped. Zim looked at it and then at Dib, "I'm sorry, Zim. I promise you, I will help you through this. You're not doing this alone this time."

Zim's eyes shook in shock at the human's sudden change of heart towards him. He closed his eyes, breathing in and out for a moment before replying, "Y-you're getting too soft and s-sentimental in your-your old age, Monkey-boy."

Dib gave him a look. Zim continued, mumbling an almost unheard whisper, "Th-thank you."

Dib gave a small nod, rubbing his hand gently against Zim's. "Stop it," Zim warned, not liking the human getting this close.

After half an hour, they had passed the state line and were almost near the HQ. Dib had flipped his seat back around and Zim had sat up, holding onto the head rest of the passenger seat, resting his forehead against it. Because the autopilot hadn't been programmed to turn yet, Dib began driving manual again, and made a turn at the second robot. The Swollen Eyeball HQ was a huge building in the middle of a small town off to the side of the city. There were hardly any houses or shopping centres out here and it was the perfect hiding spot for their base. Dib drove along this straight, badly maintained road, he began looking around, making sure he was in the right area.

Zim took a breath, opening his eyes, "How much longer, Dib? Z-Zim is getting bored back here."

"We're almost there. It should be near the end of this road, actually," he said, squinting in the hope that he would see it.

Thunder began to dance along the dark clouds, Zim giving a look of panic himself. He loved and hated the rain. While being held prisoner by Dib and the Tallests, he almost missed seeing it. When his life wasn't being threatened, he found the rain to be a really annoying thing that could make up its mind on what it wanted to do next.

Dib pulled up the car around back. He jumped out of his door like a madman and opened the backseat door for Zim, "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Dib, I'm no better than when you asked that question FIVE FUCKING MINUTES AGO!" Zim roared at the human.

Dib face fell, realizing that was a pretty dumb question on his part, as he helped the alien out of the car, wrapping his jacket over his shoulders. Dib held onto the Zim's hip, even with the protesting alien trying to push him off, and helped him inside.

He had always wanted to have the ideal family. A wife, maybe a few kids. A moment like this is something that most fathers dream off: helping their loves into the hospital as they welcome their child into the world…this really wasn't what Dib had in mind.

As he pushed the plastic doors open, something felt wrong. It was quiet. He did instruct Agent Dark Booty to have this side clear of all Agents…but that was a near impossibility. No way would the Agents simply leave…well, not all of them anyway.

The lights also seemed to be dimmed slightly. He continued down the hallway with Zim, looking around at the emptiness of this place. The thunder clapped outside, causing Zim to jump. Dib stopped, checking to see if he was okay. Zim cursed as they continued walking, "Stupid Earth rain!"

Dib didn't answer, still looking around for anyone. Dib looked inside a few of the offices, seeing no one there. He gave a look and continued on, not noticing Zim's slight pants under his breath, "Something's not right."

"I'm not panting because I'm going into labour, human, so don't you dare…" Zim moaned.

"No, not that," Dib mentioned, his voice quieting. Zim gave him a look as he continued, "This place is too quiet. Something's going on here."

They entered the end of the hallway into the main office block, Dib's heart stopping. Zim let out a near scream of horror, grabbing a hold of Dib's chest and arms. Human bodies hung by wires and rope from the roof…all were dead. And there in front of them stood the culprit, clapping their blood-soaked hands slowly, "I see congratulations are in order, Zim."

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><p><strong>Hmmm, that doesn't sound good either :o <strong>

**Hmmm, I love how Zim is completely trying to ignore the fact that he is going to be a daaaad in the next couple of minutes XD God, I thought it was funny.**

**Anyway, guess we're gonna have to wait who this mysterious person is X_X**

**R&R hope you're enjoying it! I Can't Believe This Is Nearly Over! DX I'm actually getting sad. **

**But, never fear! I have started the next one (Yay!)...my God, its sooo sad D: You guys thought THIS was bad...huh, wait till you see the next one. Anywhoose, I'm off to right some speech I is doing tonight X_X I should have probably done this yesterday...NAH XD**


	18. Last Hope!

**Yay! New Chapter! Wheeeeee :)**

**Okay, I know you want to see how the Zim and Dib are...but Nah :P we have to see how the rescuers are doing :O sorry ^^'**

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><p>Gaz hit the wall violently, the machinery on her arms and back shattering to pieces that rained down upon her when she hit the ground. She rubbed her head, happy that the guard around her mouth hadn't broken. That was the main thing that was stabilizing her breath control right now. If it was destroyed, she would suffocate.<p>

The Megadoomer swung poor Skoodge around by his spider legs. Eventually, the poor legs snapped and he was thrown into Tunica who was just getting up after one of the battle drones had just slammed her into the ground. The Irkens themselves were pretty weak characters and were easy to take down…but when it came to their machinery…that was a different story.

Gaz groaned as she pulled herself up, holding onto her broken elbow. The Irken Mech wasn't done with her yet. She clicked her neck and gave it a look, "Bring it on, bitch."

She slammed her shoulder into it, the metal around it nearly cracking. The Mech struggled against her force, scraping against the metallic floor. She jumped back as it tried to grab her and slammed into it again, the machinery of her suit breaking finally against the hard metal before her. It inched backwards once more. She ducked as it swung a punch at her. This time, it was getting sharper and swung a kick when she ducked. She slammed onto the floor, the breath leaving her. She shook it off quickly and leapt up, slamming into it, dislocating her shoulder! It toppled backwards and fell over the edge of this railing, hitting pipe upon pipe below, most likely killing the Irken within it. Gaz spat some blood down into the chasm, sticking her tongue out at the Mech.

Tunica was thrown up by Skoodge, a fist full of fire hitting the Megadoomer in the chest. The heat from the white light that were her hands began melting the metal. The Megadoomer flung Tunica off of it, not in time to see Skoodge punch through the boiling hot metal. The metal parted like liquid as Skoodge reached in and pulled the Ikren out He tossed the Irken into one of the computers, electrocuting the poor solider. The Megadoomer collapsed, crashing five soldiers and invaders beneath it. Skoodge jumped off, shaking his hand in agony, the burning metal scorching his poor hand.

Tunica jumped off of the wire she was flung into a slammed her foot into the drone that was previously attacking her, most of the bones in her foot splintering into thousands of pieces. She leapt up, the drone exploding behind her. Skoodge pulled her up as she balanced on his tired body, her balance now a bit off. A Megadoomer and a few more soldiers remained. The Tallest halfway through this battle made a run for it, taking their hostage with them, "Gaz, you need to go get Hope. We have less than an hour before this ship makes a space jump for it. Skoodge and I will finish up here. Go!" Tunica yelled over to her. Gaz gave a nod and took off.

She ran through a secret shoot she found when she reached the Tallests' floor. She swatted away hanging wiring and jumped over scattered and tossed machinery. The Tallests knew they would chase after them. She saw an opening and ran faster. She wasn't going to leave Hope now…not when they were so close.

She screeched to a stop, her boots skidding. Wiring hung from everywhere and hover boards floated as Irken Engineers moved from hanging ship to hanging ship. Other than these things, this pass was a red abyss of emptiness. She looked around, hoping to see the Tallests. And low and behold, there they were. On a hover board to the far left of her, they waited as an engineer warmed up their ship. Gaz looked around and saw an engineer coming her way. She took a step back, waiting for the right moment. The hover board was right in front of this open gap…and off she went, running. She leapt through the air, getting as much distance as she could. She grabbed a hold of the hover board, thumbing onto it with her arms. The engineer – caught off guard and off balance – fell backwards off the thing, screaming as he plummeted to the ground. This alerted the Tallests that Gaz was there. They looked at her and panicked, demanding the engineer hurry up. She pulled herself up, getting her balance on the board and then hitting a button below her right foot, giving it energy to move forward. The Tallests panicked further and simply pushed the engineer out of the way. Purple jumped in, hoping to get the thing working while Red started firing bullet from a gun he always kept on him at Gaz. She swerved her way past the bullets and went faster. She jumped off as she reached their larger hover board, the one she was riding crashing into the wall behind them, causing a huge explosion.

She slapped the gun out of Red's hands and grabbed him by his short collar, Red looking slightly panicked, "So, ready to admit defeat?"

"I don't know. Are you?" he pointed to his partner in crime. She turned to look at Purple holding onto the cage that had Hope in. She was crying through her gags, looking sick and in need of some love and care. Gaz cursed in her head. She released Red and put her hands up.

Purple grinned as Red fixed his collar, "Thought you had us there for a second, didn't ya?" Purple mocked, shaking the cage slightly. Hope cried harder. Gaz snapped, "Leave her alone! She didn't do anything to you!"

"That's where you're wrong, human," Red said, standing next to Purple, "Her existing is what she did."

Gaz gave them both a snarl, "I swear to God, I will…"

"You'll what?" Purple threatened, holding the cage a little higher. Perfect. That's exactly what Gaz needed. She grinned in her head as Red continued, "So, you filthy creature. Any last words?"

"Sure," Gaz said, nonchalantly, "A few words of Goodbye to my niece before you kill me."

"This should be good," Purple snickered.

Gaz looked at the scared little child, "Hope. Aunty Gaz loves you very much, and always will. You know that, right?"

She cried harder, shaking her head, not wanting her aunt to die before her eyes like her dad almost did. Red rolled his eyes as Purple giggled to himself, "Get on with it."

Gaz looked deep into her niece's eyes, "Hope, remember that time Zim and I told you the story about the spider?"

She looked at her aunt, nodding slowly. "I want you to do what daddy did. You remember, right?"

She looked around and nodded again. Gaz smiled at her, "Do it."

"Come on, what are you talking about? What's going on?" Purple said, getting annoyed himself now.

Gaz grinned at the Almighty Tallest. "You're about to get your ass kicked by a four year old."

They looked confused, before Hope activated her PAK's spider legs. Because it was previously Zim's PAK, the legs were the same size as they would have been for her father: in other words, a lot bigger. They shot through the cage, shattering it to millions of pieces. The Tallests, caught off guard, were pushed off the hover board by the large legs. They screamed, trying to maintain their balance, but both eventually slipped off the edge, falling to their doom.

Gaz dashed forward and caught her scared shaking niece. She gave her niece a huge embrace, hugging her tightly. Hope cried into Gaz's shoulder, the spider legs retracting. Gaz whispered comforting "shh"s into Hope's antennae, taking off the gag around her mouth and hands, "You did wonderful, sweetie. Aunt Gaz and your daddies would be very proud."

Hope clung to her aunt as they rode the hover board back to the entrance to the secret hallway.

Gaz walked down the hall more casually, happy to have her niece back. She watched as the last few scientists fell. Tunica, holding onto a just as injured Skoodge, walked toward Gaz and Hope, looking like they've been through their own sort of hell. Gaz's body ached, her head was spinning, and she was using all she had to stay awake. But it didn't matter. She had what she needed and did what she came to do, "Some fight, eh?" she grinned.

Skoodge and Tunica mumbled, smirking at Gaz. Skoodge caught sight of Hope and let go of Tunica for a moment, the Spellcaster leaning against one of the broken controls. Hope, face covered in wet tears, looked up at the strange alien. He smiled at her, "I take it this cutie over here is Hope?"

"That it is," Gaz smiled, looking at the little girl.

"Wh-who are you?" Hope mumbled, still incredibly scared.

Skoodge smiled to her reassuringly, "I-I'm Skoodge."

Hope's eyes lit up slightly, "Uncle Skoodge that daddy talked about?"

Skoodge wanted to burst into tears, "Yeah, that's me."

Hope reached out to him and gave him a hug. He sighed, feeling all of his pain almost disappear. Tunica smiled at them warmly, her silver eyes sparkling slightly. Gaz looked around, "We should probably get going. We don't have much time left."

"One thing is bugging me," Tunica mentioned, her hand that was on the controls dancing along the pad as she typed away something, not even looking down as she gazed at Gaz and Skoodge, "I was sure Tak would have joined the fight…you know, defended her leaders. But I have yet to see her."

Hope pulled away from Skoodge, looking around, "Mommy went to find daddy," she mumbled, fear consuming her face once more.

Gaz's eyes opened wide. She neared her niece, "Mommy went to find daddy? Which daddy? What did she want to do to daddy?"

"She wanted daddy Zim. She said she was listening to Daddy Dib's phone call to his friends and was going to someplace with eyes to wait for them."

Gaz looked at Skoodge and them, "That means…she's waiting for Dib and Zim at the Swollen Eyeball HQ."

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><p><strong>Oh for the love of Pete! Someone kill this bitch already XO<br>At least Red and Purple got their asses handed to them by a four year old XD Classic**

**God, wonder how Zim and DIb are :0...**

**Don't forget those reviews and I'll see uz soon :p**


	19. Push

**AHHHHHHHHH! D'X I am so sad. Two more chapters after this AND ITS OVER!**

**But, at least I can attempt to make a sequel (I hope)! WRITE, DAMMIT, WRITE!**

**Okay, back to Zim and Dib...I know you guys have been waiting for this. Thank you ALL for the awesomeness reviews (you guys are awesome). I do apologize for not adding pics yet ^^' I thought I was actually going to make it home before sunset...didnt happen X_X. Sigh, the story of my life.**

**Anyway, back to the story! I have to go and try and finish the other one :o**

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><p>Tak slowly walked up to Zim and Dib, the two fathers quivering in fear, "You didn't think it would be that simple, did you? You should be careful who you call, Dibby," she grinned, holding up an Irken tracking device.<p>

Dib looked horrified. He led her here. She stopped, a few inches away from them, her spider legs activating, "And now, you're both gonna die a slow and incredibly painful death."

She activated her laser. Dib and Zim jumped out of the way, scattering to opposite sides as the doors behind them blasted to pieces. Zim hit the floor on his hands and knees, grunting as Dib crashed into a roller chair. Zim looked up at Tak, "Why are you doing this? The Tallests need me alive, remember?"

Tak turned, walking up to Zim as her lasers charged once more, "No. They need that child alive. And seeing as you're already in labour, once I kill you I can simply rip that child out of you and hand it over to them."

Zim gave her a look, "That'll never work! I'm not in labour!"

She looked at him, "Oh you naïve fucking retard."

She sent another blast towards him, destroying the desk behind him as he made a run for it. Dib threw one of the metal bins at her. She turned, kicking it out of the way as she glared at him, "You're becoming annoying, Dib."

She ran towards him, punching him square in the stomach. He grunted a breathless gasp, collapsing as his ribs stung. She kicked up, throwing him into the air. His lifeless body hit one of the desk, his shoulder dislocating as it landed heavily on the pine.

Zim sent a huge blast of his own from one of his spider legs towards Tak from behind her, sending her crashing into the wall. He let out a scream of pain, grabbing his stomach as he fell to one knee. Thunder crashed outside again, the storm now hitting the HQ hard. Dib tried pulling himself up, knowing he had to help Zim, knowing that he couldn't give up now. His body shook violently as he rose, jumping off the desk as he hobbled over to Zim. Tak began to awaken, moaning slightly as her arms began moving. Dib tried to hurry up a bit, shoving his shoulder back in his socket, screaming as it clicked back into place.

He helped Zim up and they headed down one of the many doors, making a (slow) run for it down the empty hallway. Tak was up, getting ready to chase after them.

Dib, still in a lot of pain, held unto the hunched Irken, as they continued running "How're you doing, Zim?"

"Shut up, you stupid human! And find us a way out of here!" Zim howled, sweat still dripping off is face as he tried running, his large stomach not really helping.

Dib looked around and came up with something. "Turn right here."  
>They changed their course, turning right, into a separate hallway that had a staleness about it that Zim did not like very much.<p>

Dib kicked open the rusty door and they walked in. Zim looked around in utter confusion. It was dusty and stale here. Sheets covered in grey specks draped over everything in here. It was dark, the moonlight from the old rusty panelled windows giving the only source of light.

This place was abandoned…a long time ago. It reminded Zim of what his old base would have looked like (if it was still standing), "What is this place?"

"We've been doing a lot of remodelling and contraction to the agency. This is one of the old wings that has yet to be cleaned out and demolished," Dib said, letting the Irken go for a moment as he went to one of the sheets. Zim followed slowly, his legs quivering slightly in fear and pain. "Wh-why bring us here?"

Dib pulled a dusty sheet off one of the old steel tables that had hundreds of Irken devices on it. Zim gave it a look of horror. "When you left, we did a bit of snooping around your base. GIR was a huge help, to be honest."

Zim cursed, "That stupid little robot."

The doors flew off their hinges, crashing into a few of the sheet covered items, glass and metal hitting the floor in various places. Zim watched as Tak neared the two characters, her spider legs ready to attack both of them once more. Dib turned, panic consuming his face. "Come on, boys, you're making this too easy. Put up SOME FORM OF FIGHT!"

Dib grabbed the device he was looking for and activated it, tossing it at Tak pathetically. She grabbed it with one hand, looking incredibly unimpressed, "Pathetic human."

She tossed it up as it exploded in the air, "Did you really think that would work?"

Dib grinned at her, "I was hoping you would be your normal alien self and do that. So yeah, I think that worked out quite nicely actually."

She looked up as the roof crumbled, letting in floods of water from the rain that had begun collecting on the roof. Water washed over the howling alien, her skin sizzling under the water. Dib grabbed Zim by the hand as they ran over to the other side of the room. Dib pulled the hunched alien towards one of the walls, kicking the grate out of the way and helping him into the tiny vent.

Zim panted again, Dib crawling in front of him as they made their way down this awkward steel vent, Tak most likely following them, just on a different, much easier route below them. Dib looked around, trying to figure out where they could possibly go to get out of this situation. Most of this side of the HQ was basically abandoned and disregarded pieces of machinery and equipment. Nothing that they could really use at this point in time. Zim gave a groan, stopping suddenly as his body arched. Dib stopped and turned slightly as the alien moaned, almost choking as he cried, "God, why is it hurting so much?"

Dib gave the alien a look, still scrambling to think of a way out. It was becoming serious and Dib had to get Zim out of here now.

Zim gave a breath, trying to catch it, and then tried continuing, knowing his legs were on the verge of giving out on him.

Dib screamed as the vent collapsed beneath them, Zim howling as he tried to grab a hold of something. They hit the ground, Zim wrapping his whole body around his stomach as he tried to protect the baby. They looked up to see a singed Tak, looking slightly pissed at them, "That hurt," she glared, picking up the human his collar. Dib's limp body complied with her dragging, too weak to stop her. She flung him through a glass door to their side. He crashed into the floor, a rain of shards hitting his body. Zim picked himself up, moaning as he did so, and activated his spider legs once more, but they could not begin to stop Tak. She grabbed the invader by the shoulders and slammed him into the wall, her PAK legs whipping out and blasting his clean off. Zim looked at her, tears in his eyes as he tried to get her hands off him. She grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up, strangling the poor alien. He struggled, gagging on his lost air supply. "You were never an invader! You should never have been an invader! I should have been chosen! I should have been an invader! NOT FUCKING YOU!"

Zim struggled, trying to kick her away, but too weak to do so. Suddenly Tak's communicator came on, being on speaker for her convenience and allowing the others to hear it, "Tak. Report! The Massive has been compromised! The Tallest need you to be up here now! Pronto! I repeat, report in! The Massive has been compromised!"

She gave a look of utter fury, Zim giving a slight smirk through his strangulation. She dropped him to the floor, Zim gasping in air as he grabbed his stomach, laughing over at Tak. She turned at him in a blind fury, "What is so fucking funny, you fucking defect reject?"

Zim smiled, "Y-you've lost, Tak. No matter what happens to me now, it's over for you. And th-there's nothing you can do about it!" He grinned, almost laughing, before his face scrunched in pain again, another contraction hitting his stomach.

Tak's eyes shook in utter fury. "No. No! NO!" She made for Zim, about to kick him as hard as she could in the stomach.

Dib jumped from behind her, grabbing her and spinning her around, kneeing her in the stomach. She let out a grunt as he brought his elbow up, breaking her jaw. Zim looked on in surprise. He slammed her against the wall, Zim jumping out of the way as Tak howled. Dib looked her in the eyes, a large noticeable cut along his right cheek. Tak looked at him, struggling to get the human's grip off of her arms, but failing miserably. "Thanks for the memories, Tak," Dib said, a tear rolling down his face as he looked at his once love.

If he had been more of a man, he would have done what was needed and killed Tak. But he couldn't. He just didn't have it in him. He still loved her. She grinned. He scowled and slammed his fist into Tak's circle along her chest, knowing it was her teleporter. She screamed as he moved back quickly; she evaporated into the air, cursing the two men as she went.

Dib looked on for a moment, taking a breath when he was sure she was going, his body aching in utter pain and shock. He looked over at Zim, who was equally as shocked. He looked at Dib, "Th-that was impressive."

Dib raised an eyebrow, surprised at himself to be honest. Zim closed his eyes, grunting in agony as he fell to his knees, holding onto his stomach now with both hands. Dib rushed over to him, "Zim?"

Zim began to breathe heavily as Dib helped him rest his back against the wall into a sitting position, "Zim, deep breathes, keep breathing."  
>Zim wanted to argue with Dib and tell him to just stop it, but he couldn't. He continued breathing, throwing his head back as he tried not to imagine his stomach exploding. "D-D-Dib…" Zim tried in a weak voice. He suddenly roared in fury, "Get This Thing out of ME!"<p>

Dib panicked, his face as white as the strike of lightening that hit the roof above them. He helped the alien raise his knees up as Zim shook in agony. He helped get his jeans off (feeling the most awkward he had ever felt in his life) and took of his white collared shirt, leaving only his vest underneath on. He placed it under Zim and held onto the alien's hand as Zim looked at Dib, "I-I can't do this. I-I j-just can't," he tried, sweat consuming his paling face.

Dib rubbed Zim's hand gently, "Zim, you're not gonna let me hold that against you for the rest of your life, are you?"

Zim looked at him, realizing what he had just said, "You used to tell me always when we were kids how Almighty and Amazing you were. Come on, Alien Scum. Prove it to me!"

Zim looked around for a moment, taking a breath as Dib taunted him in a friendly manner. All these emotions, all this confusion. He felt a contraction come on now and jolted up, yelling as Dib grabbed a hold of the alien, "Come on, Zim, push!"

"I hate you, Dib!" He cried through choking words, tears streaming down his face as he tried to push down, "I hate you so much! Fuck you! FUCK YOU!"

He fell backwards into Dib's arm, deeply breathing as the pain passed, "Oh Irk," he mumbled, closing his watery eyes, "S-something's wrong…"

Dib looked at him, feeling something hit his stomach as the alien continued to breathe deeply.

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><p><strong>Hmmm, I should have added a warning for this one, shouldn't I? Oh well, you can just skip over it...maybe...oh, wait, it's too late now...hmmmm. OH well :)<strong>

**I wonder if Zim's okay? :O What will I do to him next! (Well, a lot more horrible things in the next book, but hey.)**

**On the bright side...I'm having chocolate cake! :D Wanna slice? **

**Okay, see uz tomorrow. I have to paint a JtHM T-Shirt (I do that!) and try and post some pics on DA (I actually have time now :D)**

**See you then (and don't forget to review :p)**


	20. Congrats

**God, I think I'm dying X_X I literally spent the day falling all over my house in a dizzy manner and near passing out and GOD, I feel miserable.**

**I hope you all know that I love you very much because even though I can barely see anything, I am HERE UPDATING because I love you**

**And because if I live, I know you'll kill me :p**

**Here we go...**

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><p>Gaz's body thudded as she hit the ground. Tunica and Skoodge landed heavily on their feet with Skoodge holding onto Hope as their teleportation wore off. Gaz pulled herself up with Tunica giving her a hand. Hope clung to her 'Uncle', scared beyond words after not existing for a second while teleporting. Gaz got to her feet and sighed in exhaustion, looking around. They were in the front entrance of the Swollen Eyeball HQ. The place was dark and cold as the rain hammered on outside. Tunica gave a deep breath, tears entering her eyes, "The smell of rain. God, how I've missed it," she looked at Gaz, "Are you alright, Gaz?"<p>

"I'm fine. Just need a nap," she commented, rubbing her head.

They all jumped as a scream filled the air. Hope jolted in Skoodge's grip, "Daddy!" she cried out.

Tunica looked around, "That was definitely Zim. It came from down this way, come on!"

They bolted down the hallway the yell echoed from, Hope jumping out of Skoodge's grip altogether and almost out running all of them.

They skidded to a stop near the entrance of a Ward-like area. Tunica, Skoodge and Gaz looked at one another, Gaz holding back Hope for a moment. "You prepared for what could be behind those doors?" Skoodge said in a solemn tone.

They took a moment, breathless. Then, Tunica gently pushed open the door, the metal squeaking as the flaps parted.

Their eyes shot open in shock.

Dib held tightly onto an unconscious Zim, rubbing his arm that he was holding onto to keep the alien warm. Luminous blood coated the floor underneath Zim's legs that were stretched out on the floor. Zim was wrapped up in an old dusty sheet and he was pale and had a fever.

In his arms was a tiny little figure wrapped in Dib's shirt. A little smeet, unmoving and cold.

Dib looked at Zim and the baby in horror, before looking up at three heroes, "I-it's not moving," Dib's voice cracked, tears coating his face.

Tunica limped over to them as Gaz and Skoodge stayed frozen. Hope broke into tears as she fell onto her hands and knees, looking up at her two fathers. Tunica knelt down and placed her hand on the child's cheek, a feeling of numbness spreading through her. She placed a hand behind its head and placed two fingers on its chest, rubbing it slightly.

She moved backwards after a moment, a look of wonderment on her face. The child choked at first, clearing the liquid out of its lungs. It then burst into hysterical crying, screaming louder than Zim had. Dib gave a sigh of relief, laughing through tears as his new child cried. Skoodge and Gaz's look of horror turned into small, growing smiles as tears came to their eyes. Hope stood and ran over to her dad, hugging Dib. He held her close, not letting go of Zim as they embraced one another.

Tunica gave a faint smile on her ghost-like face, "Congratulations. It's-it's a healthy, baby boy."

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><p><strong>Yeah, I know. A very short chapter. This was actually a rewrite. I had a much more detailed thingy with Zim actually having the kid and him and Dib chatting for a bit and then Zim near dying. But, because in the next book something like that will most likely happen, I didn't want to use up the material now. SO, ahead of time, I apologize for the crappy writing of this chapter. The next one is MUCH better, promise. You will see tomorrow<strong>

**To those who care, I have actually managed to get my dear friend Tunica to do a cover (in black and white) for Sun Flowers. So, in a few days (after I'm done publishing the one-shots and GETTING FEEDBACK! That's where you guys come in, I shall be posting it along with the first two chapters :D)**

**YAY! I'm so excited *cough, cough***

**Um, it shows ALL the characters. Hope, Zim, Dib, Gaz, Skoodge, Tak, EVERYONE! Even the little boy in this chapter. So, I hope you guys enjoy it. Really I do**

**Don't forget those reviews and I'll see you in the moro :) I'm gonna go and try not to die XoX**


	21. Enemies till the End :3

**First of, thank you ALL for the amazingness reviews. This has been the most fun I've had half-alseep XD I am sooooo happy that I got such awesomeness reviewers and subscribers. All of you deserve CAKE! Go out and buys urselves one...and be sure to send em a slice :p**

**It's sad to say it is over...so I won't :D Because it's not! The next story is coming up REAL soon (probably the end of this week along with the amazing cover Tuncia donated to me)! And tomorrow will be the first one-shot story of the happy family together :D**

**So, don't cry yet. It's not over. And for those who have requests (if you want a story done on the family, mpreg or not, with which ever characters you please!) send me a message and I will get on it for you :)**

**Thank you all!**

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><p>Gaz stumbled through the front door, holding onto two large bags of groceries. Skoodge jumped up from the couch and dashed over to her, grabbing one of the paper bags as it near slipped out of her grip. Tunica stood, grabbing her cane as she went up to the two, "Geez, Gaz. How much food did you buy?"<p>

"Well, with so many damn people in the household, I literally had to buy the whole store at this rate," she grumbled, shutting the door with her foot as Skoodge took the packet to the kitchen. Gaz and Tunica followed, placing the last packet on the counter with the other one. She gave a sigh, tired after that mission.  
>"You do realize you should be resting that damaged shoulder and elbow of yours, right?" Skoodge mentioned. Gaz shot him a look, filling him with instant fear. He looked away, not adding anything else to that.<p>

Tunica began unpacking the things as Gaz sat down for a moment. Skoodge went to help the Spellcaster. "How's our patient upstairs?" Gaz said, crossing her legs, realizing this was much better than having to unpack herself.

"He's doing better. A bit sore, obviously. Your brother hasn't left him alone all day," Skoodge mentioned, putting milk and butter into the fridge after Tunica showed him where it goes.

"Which is a brave thing on your brother's part, I must say," Tunica grinned, putting bread into the breadbin on the counter. Gaz sat straight, "Any word from the bitch?"

Tunica looked at Gaz, smirking, "Ah yes. The…female dog," Tunica said, not really into the swearing thing, "She's gone, along with the rest of those Irken madmen."

"Where did you send them anyway, Tunica?" Skoodge asked, stopping as he looked at the Spellcaster.

She grinned.

Tunica had messed with the controls for a minute or two, making sure that when the ship made its jump into hyperspace, it wouldn't end up in its originally planned spot.

The Tallests and any Irkens on the ship were now slowly heading towards one of the largest suns in the universe.

"Somewhere very hot," was all she said, packing the spices away in the cupboards.

She gave a confused look as she took out a packet full of cupcakes. She looked over at Gaz, the Aunt giving a smile to herself.

Zim lay against the soft pillows, watching his new son sleep ever so soundly in his arms. Dib sat in a seat next to the alien's 'permanent' bed, "God, I never realized I would ever love something that caused me that much pain."

Dib gave a slight laugh, "Yeah, that tends to be the case. Apparently, women who give birth don't remember the pain at all afterwards."

"Yes, well, I'm not a woman," Zim said, looking at the human, annoyed.

A moment passed. "You know that nothing has changed between us, right?" he said, his voice still strained and groggy from a few nights ago, "Now that that thing is out of me, no more strange and freaky hormones will be messing with my bio signature and I am back to hating you once more."

Dib looked at him, "Good. You were really weirding me out, being all nice and everything."

They looked forward, in thought for a moment, "God, what a life this is going to be. Two kids with fathers that hate one another. Poor things," Dib commented.

Zim thought for a moment, "At least the amazing Zim is one of them."

There was another moment of silence before Zim bit his lip in anger and looked at the human, "Thank you, Dib-monkey for your help," he said quickly and in a mumble. Dib looked at him and grinned, "You're welcome."

He paused, "I was helping my son, by the way. Not you."

"Oh, of course," Zim added.

Another moment of silence.

They then sighed, lying back. Zim closed his eyes, exhausted. Dib looked up at the ceiling as his thoughts began to wonder. "Zim?"  
>"Hm?" Zim sighed, starting to doze.<p>

"We need to pick a name for our son, you know?"

"We'll do it tomorrow," he mumbled.

"You said that yesterday, you Alien Freak. It is now tomorrow."

Zim gave a grunt of annoyance.

"PAKs assign names, Dib-human."

"He doesn't have a PAK."

Zim gave another grunt of annoyance.

"Fine," Zim grumbled, "We'll call him Zim jnr. Now leave Zim to sleep."

Dib eyeballed him, "We're not naming that poor child that. Now come on, you must have thought of some names for him."

"I just did and you shut it down, you annoying biped!"

Dib sighed.

Zim opened his eyes half way and glanced over at Dib, "How about NiK?"

Dib looked at him, "Why that name?"

"Do you have a problem with it?"

"No, I think it's actually quite nice. Where'd you get that name from?"

Zim was thinking about coins after seeing his child's copper eyes for the first time when he woke up at home after passing out after the birth. He was greeted with his howling son crying for something to eat. He was beautiful, though. There it lay, a tiny green Irken child with ten fingers and toes and the most stunning and unheard of eyes he had ever seen: Copper. So, when he began to think of names, he for some reason thought of coins, leading him to think of nickels. Nik was a shorter (and Irken) version of it. Rather than explaining his thought processes, he simply added, "I'm just amazing that way."

Dib gave him a look and closed his eyes, "Nik it is."

The door to Zim's room opened slightly. Zim and Dib looked up as Tunica and Skoodge walked through the door, smiling, Skoodge holding Hope's hand. She raced over to her dads. Dib picked up his daughter and placed her on his lap as Skoodge and Tunica sat on the edge of the bed, "Hello daddy's little munchkin! How are we doing today?"

She gave her dad a big hug and turned around, lying against his chest, "I'm happy," she said smiling.

"This is good,' Zim pointed out, smiling at his daughter. His son opened his sleepy eyes and looked at his sister. Hope smiled at him. He smiled through his pacifier at her, giggling in a baby voice.

"Well, I think you're going to be a lot happier in a minute, Hope," Gaz said from the door as she walked in, holding a plate with a cupcake on it. A little lit candle perched itself carefully on top of it as she brought it over to the little girl. Hope gave an excited laugh as Gaz placed it in front of the little girl on the bed. She stood next to Dib as everyone began to sing happy birthday to the now five year old little child.

"Blow out the candle and make a wish, Hope," Gaz said, smiling at the excited child. Hope gave a smile and blew out the candle in a huff. Everyone clapped and cheered. Even little Nik broke his arms free from the fleecy wrapped around him and gave a cute little clap for his sister.

"What did you wish for?" Skoodge asked.

"Shh, if she tells it won't come true," Gaz pointed out, smiling at the Irken.

"Now, that's not true," Tunica said, "That was just a lie created for people who made dumb wishes when they blew out the candle."

Everyone gave a small laugh as she continued, "Hope, you can tell us what you wished for because Aunty Tunica knows it's definitely not something stupid," she smiled.

Hope gave a big grin and looked at everyone, "It doesn't matter. My wish already came true."

"Really?" Dib said.

"Why's that?" Zim added.

"I have my two daddies back now," she smiled, reaching for her cupcake.

Dib and Zim looked at one another as everyone gave a soft smile to the two of them. They gave one another an evil grin as Hope let baby Nik have a piece. The children stared at the two, icing smearing across their faces, "Enemies till the end, eh, Zim?" Dib mentioned.

"Enemies to the end, pathetic human," Zim grinned.

THE END…

For now, that is…

?

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><p><strong>Aw :3 What a cute ending, no? See, this is why I couldn't have Zim all sick and whatnot by the end of the last chapter...well, sicker, anyway :L So, yeah :) <strong>

**IT'S FINISHED! X'D **

**So, leave your final reviews (we can make it to 50, guys! :D) **

**And if you want a story written before the next part of this thingy-thingy goes up, send me a message and I'll see what I can do :p**

**See you guys tomorrow for the First ONE-SHOT! :D**

**(I also hope you enjoyed (3 )**


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